GovTech Q&A Derek Porter

For this episode I am joined by Ed Meece, City Manager for Polson, Montana.

Ed brings with him about 30 years of experience working in local government. I had a lot of fun talking to Ed as we shared our mutual perspectives on GovTech.

Over the course of the interview we discussed the evolution of IT in government, dealing with challenging implementations, local governments response to the pandemic and many other interesting topics.

DISCLAIMER: All of the ideas expressed in this interview are the personal statements and opinions of Ed Meece, and do not reflect the opinions/statements of the City of Polson.

For this episode I am joined by Allison Dietrich, Development Services Technician at Murrieta, California and former Building Technician at Carlsbad, California.

With online permitting and electronic plan review being such a hot topic these days, it was great to have Allison join us to share her experiences using technology from a building department’s point of view.

DISCLAIMER: All of the ideas expressed in this interview are the personal statements and opinions of Allison Dietrich, and do not reflect the opinions/statements of the City of Carlsbad or the City of Murrieta.

For this episode I am joined by Austin Faison, Town Manager for the Town of Winthrop, Massachusetts.

It was a very insightful and interesting interview as we were able to cover many topics, such as:

- How Austin entered into municipal government

- How data can help make and support decision making

- How emerging and innovative technology is enabling municipal govt

DISCLAIMER: All of the ideas expressed in this interview are the personal statements and opinions of Austin Faison, and do not reflect the opinions/statements of the Town of Winthrop.

For this episode I am joined by Keaton Seaby, Manager of Innovation & Technology for the City of Beaumont, Alberta, Canada.

During the interview Keaton was able to touch on a variety of topics, such as:

- Remote tools enabling IT support

- How technology can empower govt employees

- The increasing adoption of government SaaS solutions

- The City of Beaumont’s evolution into an innovation hub and much more

DISCLAIMER: All of the ideas expressed in this interview are the personal statements and opinions of Keaton Seaby, and do not reflect the opinions/statements of the City of Beaumont.

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GovTech Q&A - New episodes uploaded twice monthly

Forward-thinking civic leaders share their insights and experiences on the impact of technology innovation in local & state government.

Podcast - https://anchor.fm/govtechqa and coming to all major podcast platforms:

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For this episode I am joined by Sanford Hess, IT Director at the City of Urbana, Illinois. 

During the interview Sanford shared with me his thoughts and insights on many different topics, such as:

- Sanford’s transition from working at a private sector consulting firm to becoming Urbana’s Director of IT

- The evolution of IT’s role in government

- How government is utilizing technology to deal with the challenges arising from the current global pandemic

- Security concerns and much more

DISCLAIMER: All of the ideas expressed in this interview are the personal statements and opinions of Sanford Hess, and do not reflect the opinions/statements of the City of Urbana.