Local government should center its decisions on people’s needs, the city’s newly arrived CIO said. This means hearing from residents and staff alike, and doing more with the information at hand.
Continuing the digital transformation of Aurora, Ill., means modernizing IT operations — and keeping residents and cost efficiency at the center, according to the city’s new CIO.
Ram Tyagi, whose first day as CIO was May 21, steps into the role as leaders consider what’s next on Aurora’s smart city journey. His focus areas, Tyagi said, include expanding the city’s use of data in decision-making, improving operational efficiency through technology and reviewing vendor contracts to identify cost savings. He described these efforts as a part of a broader push to create a business-friendly city, while keeping residents’ needs in mind.
“We want to drive every decision through data, and I’m sure we can reduce costs that way,” Tyagi said. He emphasized that data should feed decision-making across city government, departments and in neighborhoods.
The city’s IT strategy also includes shifting systems to the cloud to reduce an on-premises footprint and support scalable, secure operations. Strengthening cybersecurity is critical, the CIO said, as departments across the enterprise from water to police expand digital services and emphasize keeping infrastructure and resident data safe. Next steps include enhancing internal and public-facing data for city use.
“I came here from India in 2005 and have lived in Aurora since then,” Tyagi said. “This city has given me so much. Now I want to give back.”
Part of that means listening to his team of 43 full-time employees and leveraging their strengths to further work in transparency, policy and implementation. By doing so, said Tyagi, Aurora will attract more business and residents. Officials will conduct a special census later this year to help inform planning and resource allocation.
In replacing former CIO Michael Pegues, who stepped down following the April election of Mayor John Laesch, Tyagi brings with him more than two decades of experience in technology and consulting. He has led large-scale digital implementations, including turnaround efforts for underperforming systems, and has worked extensively on cloud migration, data governance and enterprise modernization for finance and public services clients.
Aurora is the second-largest city in Illinois and is about 40 miles west of Chicago, giving it what Tyagi called a “unique advantage.” Its diversity, location along the Interstate 88 corridor, and infrastructure position it, he said, for continued growth. The city is invested in broadband and fiber infrastructure, which the CIO sees as essential to both economic development and equitable access to services.
“My goal, along with the mayor, is to bring more transparency and ethics, and whatever we do, openness … we want to be collaborative, not only among the employees, but collaborative with the people of Aurora, other employees, other departments,” Tyagi said. “With that in mind, [there are] amazing days ahead.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Rae D. DeShong
Quelle/Source: Government Technology, 04.06.2025
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