Baton Rouge is the fifth-most digital city among similar-sized cities, according to an annual survey by the Center for Digital Government.
The center evaluated cities in five population classifications, with Baton Rouge belonging to the 125,000-249,999 population category. Cape Coral, Florida, ranked first in that category, and Los Angeles won the title of most digital city among those with populations higher than 500,000.
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s office cited several initiatives this year, including the use of GIS, a partnership with Waze, the implementation of body cameras for police and a new workflow management system at City Hall.
Local officials have been trying to get ahead of the technology curve in recent years, and several initiatives are ongoing: A new financial system was recently unveiled inside City Hall, the government website brgov.com is being overhauled and Broome is setting out to implement a policy regarding open data. Broome’s administration is also partnering with LSU to, among other things, analyze blight and crime data.
Cybersecurity, citizen engagement, mobility and open data are the three biggest areas of focus in the next year among cities surveyed.
