No, wait, maybe the question is: Is my local government’s computer network secure? A community’s data breach can obviously affect a lot of people.

After reading the two March PM articles on cybercrime and also listening to news stories about data breaches practically every day, it makes me wonder if I should even be using a computer. I know it’s not all doom and gloom, of course, but it does seem like personal information is not personal anymore. And it’s not always about bank and store breaches. Local governments are experiencing data breaches too.

Managers might want to take stock of what Gerald Cliff, research director for the National White Collar Crime Center, writes in his “Cybercrime @ City Hall” article, where he has 10 recommendations that answer the question: How does an organization mitigate the threat and reduce any potential financial impact of a data breach? The Tech Touch department article "The First 24 Hours" also provides guidance after a suspected data breach. 

In 2014, a National Research Center survey on resident engagement found that only 19 percent of Americans contacted their local elected officials during a 12-month period and about 25 percent attended a public meeting. Author Kevin Desouza, associate dean for research with Arizona State University, writes in “Citizen Disengagement: The Minority Opinion” that residents are disengaging for a variety of reasons—perhaps they have a limited view of a problem or don’t know the constraints that local governments are under. Check out his five suggestions to help them engage.

The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) pays for disaster recovery costs but it can take time to get the money to a local government, and time is precious when expensive debris removal needs to be taken care. Plan ahead and then when a disaster hits, act with C.A.R.E. Find out what this acronym means in the premium-content article, “Getting Disaster Recovery Costs Moving.”

I think all PM articles are perfect, but I love it when ICMA members contribute to the magazine who haven’t done so before. In March, Marcia Raines, CM, Millbrae, California; Mark Ryckman, CM, Corning, New York; David Biggs, CM, Hercules, California, sent articles for their management colleagues’ information. I hope local government managers from around the world will consider doing the same thing.