Nutter: Philly needs more 'net access
Technically Philly, a Philadelphia-based blog covering the city's burgeoning technology industries, had a question and answer session last week with Mayor Michael Nutter. Here's a sampling:
Technically Philly covers the city's burgeoning technology industries. Last week, they quizzed Mayor Michael Nutter on the city's technology policy. And they shared their post with Philly.com.
By Technically Philly staff
Since we launched a year-and-a-half ago, we've not only watched, but followed as closely as we could City of Philadelphia technology policy.
Even in our short tenure covering all that is involved — like municipal information technology, government transparency, citywide broadband network infrastructure, economic policy and much, much more — we've been witness to a city intent on finding new ways of utilizing technology and finding better ways of connecting with citizens.
Throughout, we've heard repeatedly from leaders that Mayor Michael Nutter understands the value of technology in city government and he is intent on involving Philadelphia's technology community.
Though we write about these initiatives weekly, nothing was more of a reminder of the Mayor's commitment to technology than when Nutter announced a $120 million capital investment in the Division of Technology during the pageantry of his budget address to City Council in March.
And with his support, DOT has been steered in a new direction, a Chief Technology Officer appointed to the mayoral cabinet, pilot programs created to attract technology businesses and broadband stimulus dollars and gigabit broadband chased.
So, we had to get the man on the phone to talk tech. Yesterday, we spoke with Mayor Nutter about government transparency, Philadelphia's tax structure, and about his call to action to Philadelphia's technology community.