Jodi Magallanes – Editor of The Municipal

Technology has changed the details of how we do our jobs, and most of those changes have been for the better. They’ve certainly made us more efficient. But even while we’re learning to rely on some amazingly-capable new technology, its juxtaposition with old school circumstances and procedures are kind of entertaining.

Even though we’re taking our computing to the cloud (although I’m still not entirely sure what that means), Carrie Schmitt’s story this month reminds me that some cities are losing the battle against bugs in trees. Some things are just beyond our control, and probably will be forever.

In the city where I live, there’s also a 150-year-old municipal building where workers are painstakingly replacing brick after the room inside was damaged during rewiring for an ultra fast Internet connection. Talk about having the old and the new in one place, at the same time. The floor is an old gymnasium basketball court, and the warping wood is playing havoc with the motion sensors, too. That one makes me laugh.

In this month’s edition of The Municipal, writer Sarah Wright has the latest on new ways
Technology is wonderful, but remembering how to operate it without forgetting how to do things the old-fashioned way makes me tired sometimes. I don’t think there’s any new technology that’s better for curing my problem than a tried-and-true cup of coffee.that municipalities are using credit card-payment technology. Judging by what she found, the new systems have the potential to both save municipal dollars and make parking and other service options easier on the consumer, too. I’ve used one a couple times, and it was indeed handy: But frankly, I’d be more appreciative of a device that would keep me from locking my keys in my car while it’s parked in that lot. If my son hadn’t had the spare, we might still be in Chicago.