How Minnetonka Tested Its Cybersecurity Response Before an Actual Attack
In August 2026, Fractional Source partnered with Sourcewell to conduct a three-hour cybersecurity tabletop exercise for 25 municipal leaders in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The exercise brought together representatives from IT, police, fire, finance, legal, public works, and other departments to examine how the city would respond to a cybersecurity incident.
The exercise used municipal self-assessments and risk modeling to develop scenarios reflecting Minnetonka's operational risks. Participants worked through decisions involving incident escalation, departmental responsibilities, vendor communication, and coordination between emergency responders and city leadership. The simulation tested whether existing procedures provided enough guidance when multiple departments needed to act at the same time.
The exercise demonstrated the importance of preparing employees outside the IT department for cybersecurity incidents. Municipal leaders need to understand who has decision-making authority, how information moves between departments, and when to involve external partners. Testing these responsibilities in a controlled environment lets cities identify communication gaps and unclear procedures before an attack disrupts essential services.
Free Cybersecurity Assessments and Exercises for State and Local Governments
Fractional Source and Sourcewell Ventures are expanding their cybersecurity pilot to state and local governments, offering free assessments and exercises to help agencies prepare for cyber incidents.
Big Story: AI Application Surge Slows City Hiring
Key Takeaways
Philadelphia's city workforce has returned to its 2019 size, while its vacancy rate climbed from 6.6% in fiscal 2019 to 16.5% in fiscal 2025.
Federal job cuts in 2025 and AI tools that allow one person to apply for 50 jobs in an afternoon have flooded local governments with applications and slowed hiring.
Work for America advises cities to map their hiring process, track results with data, and build a stronger public image for government jobs.
Cities across the country have worked to rebuild their workforces since the pandemic, when early retirements and departures left many roles empty. Pew Charitable Trusts data shows that Philadelphia had 28,084 employees at the end of fiscal 2019. Its workforce shrank 6% by fiscal 2022 and then recovered to 28,253 employees by the end of fiscal 2025.
Philadelphia created 3,762 new positions over six years, and many remain unfilled. At the end of fiscal 2025, the city had 5,592 vacancies, a 16.5% rate. Public safety departments hold 52% of those openings. The Police Department has a 20% vacancy rate, and citywide overtime spending rose 78%, from $177 million to $315 million.
The Police Department fell from 7,402 filled positions to 6,309, a loss of 1,093. The Streets Department added 590 positions, and the Water Department and the Managing Director's Office also grew. A Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority report found that Police, Fire, Prisons, and Streets together accounted for 87.9% of overtime spending.
Pew compared Philadelphia with nine of the largest U.S. cities. San Diego,
Phoenix, and Dallas expanded their public workforces after the pandemic. Charlotte, Columbus, Fort Worth, New York, and Philadelphia recorded fewer city employees per 10,000 residents. Los Angeles, New York, and Charlotte also lost public safety staff, and Philadelphia posted the largest decline in the group at 17%.
Caitlin Lewis, founder of the non-profit Work for America, told Pew that application volume is now the main obstacle. More than 300,000 people lost federal jobs in 2025, and many have turned to state and local government. AI tools let a single applicant submit 50 applications in one afternoon, and agencies have limited capacity to review this volume, creating a bottleneck that can delay filling a role.
Unfilled roles directly affect residents. Lewis cited permits that wait for review, inspections that are slowed or skipped, and 911 calls that go unanswered. Employees who absorb extra work face higher burnout, which can lead more of them to leave.
Work for America supports more than 300 state and local governments and advises cities to focus on three areas. The first is the hiring process. Lewis said most cities have never mapped it from start to finish, so they cannot see where delays occur or where candidates drop out. The second is data, which lets cities measure whether changes improve results. The third is brand, which covers how a government explains the value of public service to job seekers.
Baltimore rebuilt its skilled trades hiring program by setting aside weekly interview days for hiring managers, so scheduling an interview no longer takes as long as 60 days. The fix required no additional funding or staff. Columbus works with the Ohio Reformatory for Women to train women during incarceration, giving them credentials to enter skilled trades jobs after release.
No national count exists for true entry-level jobs in state and local government, and cities have limited information on the age and gender makeup of their staff. Filling these gaps would give governments a stronger basis for planning future hiring.
QUICK HIT NEWS
Honolulu voters will decide on November 3 whether to establish an Office of Data and Innovation and formalize the chief data officer's role in the city charter. Question 15, one of 20 proposed charter amendments, would give the office responsibility for researching data standards, privacy, AI, and innovation in city services. Honolulu created its chief data officer position in 2022, alongside requirements for biennial data plans, annual agency compliance plans, and an enterprise data inventory. The amendment would make the office and position less vulnerable to changes in city leadership.
Colleges closed or merged at a pace of about one every three weeks over the past year. Huron Consulting projects that 442 of about 1,700 private nonprofit institutions are at risk of closing or merging within 10 years, and nearly 150 have closed over the past decade. College enrollment is down about 2 million students from its 2011 peak. A 2022 SHEEO study found that fewer than half of students at colleges that closed re-enroll elsewhere. The losses also hurt local economies and access to higher education in rural areas.
Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services in Michigan has received four Michigan Department of Transportation grants totaling $4 million over four years. One will fund a study of autonomous vehicle technology in Saginawʼs medical district, drawing on semi-autonomous bus pilots in other Michigan communities. The others add a route to MBS International Airport, fund a regional plan linking the airport to nearby colleges, and add transportation for veterans with three neighboring transit authorities. The agency will announce service launch dates in early 2027, when the two studies are also set to begin.
A Verizon Frontline survey of 1,035 first responders, conducted by Lexipol Media Group in July, found that nearly 32% use AI daily at work, up from about 11% in 2025. More than half expect to use it daily within three years. About 66% ranked unreliable networks among their top three concerns, 53% named outdated communications tools, and 61% cited budget constraints. About 75% said their agencies were very or somewhat prepared for a cyberattack. Respondents came from law enforcement, emergency medical services, fire services, and emergency communications.
FOR THE COMMUTE
Redevelopment and the Economics of Place (GovLove)
Aaron Marcavitch, Director of Economic and Community Development for Enfield, Connecticut, discusses how local governments can combine redevelopment with historic preservation and community identity. He examines Enfield's efforts to revitalize its downtown, repurpose a vacant shopping mall, and attract investment through housing, public spaces, and infrastructure improvements. The conversation also covers resident engagement, changing perceptions of struggling neighborhoods, and the role of parks, trails, and cultural assets in economic development.
RESOURCES & EVENTS
📅 Public Records Requests Are Surging (Virtual - October 28, 2026)
This webinar explores how agencies can handle rising public records requests from more sources and with more digital content. Vince Hanson of Naviant and moderator Curt Wood of the Center for Digital Government will walk through intake, document search, redaction, storage, and integration with existing systems. The session also covers how to define requirements, evaluate vendors, and identify where AI and automation add practical value.
📅 Pennsylvania Digital Government Summit 2026 (Camp Hill, PA - December 10, 2026)
The Pennsylvania Digital Government Summit brings together state and local government technology leaders to examine public-sector modernization, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data governance, and digital service delivery. Discussions focus on improving government operations, managing emerging technologies, and addressing implementation challenges across agencies. The event takes place at the Penn Harris Hotel, with free registration for eligible public-sector attendees.
📊 Report Spotlight: Mission-Ready Communications for Modern Public Safety (T-Mobile)
This paper examines how reliance on drones, body cameras, AI, and connected sensors is changing communication requirements for public safety agencies. It identifies network congestion, limited upload capacity, infrastructure outages, and interoperability gaps as major operational challenges. The report examines dedicated 5G network slicing, priority access for first responders, satellite connectivity, and redundant network infrastructure as approaches to maintaining communications during emergencies. It also addresses lifecycle costs, training, and coordination across police, fire, and emergency medical services.
INSIGHT OF THE WEEK
Guardianship has long been the default for older adults in cognitive decline. Still, states are moving toward supported decision-making, which lets people keep control over their own choices with help from trusted supporters. At least 40 states and D.C. have laws that refer to the practice, and at least 18 require courts to consider less restrictive options before guardianship. Texas was the first state to pass a supported decision-making statute. A Disability Rights Maine analysis found full guardianship orders fell from 76% to 56% when respondents had an attorney.
