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Posts for Josh Mahar

Addressing Free Speech in your Social Media Comment Policy

Addressing Free Speech in your Social Media Comment Policy

August 9, 2016  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Social Media

This post is about giving local governments some information on how and what a good approach to take is when addressing public comments on their Facebook or other social media pages.

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Community-Led Demonstration Projects: A Cost Effective Way to Engage Citizens and Implement Plans

Community-Led Demonstration Projects: A Cost Effective Way to Engage Citizens and Implement Plans

June 27, 2016  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Public Participation

A new policy from Burlington, Vermont provides a neat example of how jurisdictions can give their enthusiastic citizen activists a clear avenue for taking action.

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5 Takeaways from the Regional Smart Cities Workshop

5 Takeaways from the Regional Smart Cities Workshop

March 22, 2016  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Information Technology

The decreasing costs of smart city technology and the importance of trust are just a few of the insights from the regional smart cities workshop in Redmond earlier this year.

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Tactical Urbanism: Applying a Big City Placemaking Technique to Smaller Communities

Tactical Urbanism: Applying a Big City Placemaking Technique to Smaller Communities

February 4, 2016  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Development Types

Tactical urbanism offers cities and towns of all sizes a way of testing out and engaging their communities in new placemaking techniques, without requiring major capital investments.

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Social Media Management is Now a Full-Fledged Government Discipline

Social Media Management is Now a Full-Fledged Government Discipline

December 17, 2015  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Social Media

The importance and complexity of social media have turned this once fledgling activity into a critical piece of government communication resources and it may be time for your organization to take it more seriously.

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Spokane's Outreach Strategies at the Forefront of Community Policing Efforts

Spokane's Outreach Strategies at the Forefront of Community Policing Efforts

October 21, 2015  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Law Enforcement

Spokane Police Department's 2015 Community Outreach Strategy shows some innovative community policing techniques.

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Strategies for Managing Social Media Records from the State Archives

Strategies for Managing Social Media Records from the State Archives

June 18, 2015  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool for engagement, but often a nightmare for public records officers. We interviewed Leslie Koziara Turner with the State Archives to see what strategies local governments can use to manage their social media records.

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Seattle Addresses Privacy and Public Disclosure in New Strategy for Managing Big Data

Seattle Addresses Privacy and Public Disclosure in New Strategy for Managing Big Data

March 26, 2015  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Information Technology

Earlier this year, the Seattle City Council adopted a set of six privacy principles regarding personal information. It was the first deliverable from the city’s Digital Privacy Initiative, an effort aimed at developing a comprehensive plan and process for how the city collects, manages, and uses data. Seattle’s efforts are pioneering in this area and are a likely precursor of discussions that many local governments will need to have in the near future. As jurisdictions adopt new technologies and use data to better serve their constituents, myriad questions of privacy and public disclosure are often left unanswered. Developing a clear strategy and process to address these issues, like Seattle is attempting, may help local governments steer clear of major problems down the road

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Establishing Effective Social Media Policies for your Agency

Establishing Effective Social Media Policies for your Agency

February 24, 2015  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Social Media

Local governments are jumping into the social media arena to disseminate important information and gauge public opinion, but social media can be a double-edged sword. We've put together a few key elements you should consider prior to diving in.

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State Shared-Work Program Provides an Alternative to Layoffs

September 22, 2014  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Termination and Retirement

Facing layoffs in this year’s budget? You may want to consider the Employment Security Department’s Shared-Work Program. Through the program, employers...

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Clark County Joint Lobby Cuts Through Bureaucracy to Better Meet the Needs of Citizens

Clark County Joint Lobby Cuts Through Bureaucracy to Better Meet the Needs of Citizens

July 8, 2014  by  Josh Mahar
Category:  Management

Walking into the office of the Assessor, Treasurer, and Auditor in Clark County can be a bit odd: you aren’t entirely sure where one office ends and another begins. That’s because through a...

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