Overview

June 16
11AM PT, 2PM ET

Register

Budget season has a way of rewriting priorities overnight. For CIOs and IT leaders in local government, it’s not just about doing more with less — it’s about deciding what actually matters, defending it and keeping your team steady while everything else shifts.

This webinar brings together experienced city and county technology leaders to share how they handle real-world budget pressure without losing momentum. From working side-by-side with finance leaders to making tough calls on staffing, services and cybersecurity, you’ll hear how IT leaders are positioning their organizations to stay credible, visible and essential, even when funding is on the line.

You'll learn how to:

  • Structure budget reductions without losing critical services, including how to plan, communicate and manage the human side of change
  • Work with budget offices to gain visibility and influence over enterprise technology spending
  • Connect IT investments to organizational priorities so leadership sees IT as essential

Attend this event to hear how your peers are handling the pressure and to obtain your complimentary certificate of attendance!

Speakers

Tony Batalla headshot

Tony Batalla

Chief Information Officer, City of Oakland, California

Tony leads a department of 90 full-time staff and a $45 million annual budget. He oversees technology strategy, IT infrastructure & cloud solutions, cybersecurity, enterprise business systems, and innovation initiatives, including AI and data governance. Tony brings extensive experience in public sector technology leadership, with a focus on building resilient systems, modernizing technology, and developing and driving strategic direction. He holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from the University of San Francisco and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

William Smith headshot

William Smith

Assistant CTO & Chief of Staff, City of Seattle, Washington

William “Will” brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources, change management, service delivery, and organizational leadership to his role as Assistant CTO and Chief of Staff at Seattle IT. He leads the Strategic Support Division for a technology organization of more than 600 employees and with a ~$300 million budget, supporting a municipal workforce of 14,000 employees and an $8.5 billion city budget. As the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle serves more than 816,000 residents and over 50,000 businesses. Under Will’s leadership, the Strategic Support Division provides operational leadership, resource management, workforce and labor relations, service design, and administrative services that enable Seattle IT to align technology strategy with citywide priorities and deliver meaningful outcomes for the communities it serves.

Over more than a decade with the City of Seattle, Will has played a key role in strengthening organizational effectiveness and advancing people-centered leadership strategies. Prior to joining Seattle IT, he held senior human resources leadership roles with organizations including Plymouth Housing Group, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, and Microsoft. His expertise spans organizational development, employee and labor relations, risk management, workforce strategy, employment planning, union negotiations, and comprehensive HR strategy development.

Will holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Phoenix and a Master of Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law from Tulane Law School. He is currently completing his doctorate at Grand Canyon University. In addition to his professional work, Will is the former president of the Seattle Management Association and currently serves as President of D.A.D.S. (Divine Alternatives for Dads Services), an organization dedicated to empowering fathers to build healthy, lasting relationships with their children.

Alexandra Winkler headshot

Alexandra Winkler

Chief Information Officer, City of Boise, Idaho

Alexandra Winkler is the Chief Information Officer for the City of Boise, Idaho’s largest city, serving a population of approximately 240,000 residents and supporting a city workforce of about 2,100 employees. She leads a 75-person technology team responsible for cybersecurity, infrastructure, enterprise applications, data and GIS, digital services, communications systems, and resident-facing technology. Prior to joining the City, Alex held senior leadership roles in health information and IT consulting and served more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, where she flew C-130 aircraft and led transformation efforts. She holds an M.S. in Knowledge Management from Kent State University and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, Davis.

Rob Lloyd headshot

Rob Lloyd — Moderator

Executive Director, Center for Digital Government

Rob Lloyd is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government, where he leads the organization’s national research and advisory programs focused on technology policy, innovation and best practices for government and industry leaders in state and local government. In this role, he oversees initiatives including the Digital Communities program and the Center for Public Sector AI and serves as a national voice on the technology challenges and opportunities shaping government.

Lloyd brings nearly three decades of public-sector technology leadership. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer for the City of Seattle, where he was a member of the mayor’s cabinet and oversaw a team of nearly 600 employees and a technology portfolio of roughly $300 million. Previously, he was Deputy City Manager and Chief Information Officer for the City of San José and has held senior technology leadership roles in cities across Arizona, Oregon and Colorado.

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