There is a quiet truth in public sector halls: the systems running cities, counties, and states are not just aging—they’re eroding under the weight of expectations they were never built to carry. Across the United States, local governments rely on legacy IT infrastructure that wasn’t designed for today’s speed, scale, or security threats. Patchwork upgrades can only hold the line for so long. And as the digital demands on public services continue to rise, the cracks are beginning to show.
But this isn’t just a tech problem. It is a structural one because modernizing local government systems demands a shift in mindset, procurement, and political will. And that’s where things get interesting.
This article will unpack what it really takes to modernize local government tech by examining the consequences of aging infrastructure, the pitfalls of half-measures, and the structural shifts that forward-thinking agencies are making.
…because, “You don’t upgrade a 30-year-old system just to make it easier on the eyes. You do it because people’s lives depend on it working.”
The cost of old code
Apart from being outdated, legacy systems are risky. A 2023 report by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers found that nearly 75% of state IT leaders are still managing core services like unemployment insurance, licensing, and criminal justice on systems that are 25 years or older. Many of these were written in COBOL, a programming language invented in 1959, and there are fewer developers each year who can maintain them.
But the technical debt isn’t just in code but also in service delays, patchy data integration, manual workarounds, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. When Minnesota’s unemployment insurance system crashed during the COVID-19 spike in claims, the culprit was a system designed for the job market of 1995.
And yet, many agencies are stuck. They know the risk. They know the age of their systems. But the cost of full replacement—financially, politically, and logistically—keeps modernization on the back burner.
That’s when stopgap strategies step in. But half-modernisation brings its own risks.
The half-modernisation trap
In response, many local governments pursue hybrid or “lift-and-shift” solutions—migrating legacy systems to the cloud without fundamentally rethinking them. On paper, it checks the modernization box. In practice, it often fails to deliver on scalability, interoperability, or user experience.
Because here’s the truth: a bad system in the cloud is still a bad system. It’s just running in someone else’s data center. True modernization requires a reimagination of workflows, data flows, and how services are actually delivered.
There’s also the risk of fragmentation. Without a strategic, user-driven roadmap, agencies often accumulate siloed tools, disconnected platforms, and vendor sprawl. Each new tool adds complexity. And when contracts change hands, institutional knowledge walks out the door.
The result? Frustrated staff, disenfranchised citizens, and a steady erosion of public trust. Which gives rise to the root of many of these missteps: procurement.
The procurement puzzle
Procurement processes in most public sector bodies are still designed for a world of hardware, not agile software and cloud-native services. Modernizing local tech starts with the question of how the government buys.
Requests for proposals often lock in outdated specifications. Vendors are chosen based on cost, not capability. The outcome? A race to the bottom and an ecosystem that systematically excludes smaller, more innovative GovTech firms.
To break the cycle, some governments are experimenting with pre-approved vendor pools, outcomes-based contracts, and cooperative purchasing agreements. These models reduce red tape. But scaling these changes requires policy reform, internal upskilling, and a cultural shift toward outcomes over checklists.
Because ultimately, buying better is just as important as building better. And neither works without the right people in place.
People power: The human side of tech
Even the most elegant system will fail if the people behind it aren’t equipped—or empowered. One of the most overlooked aspects of modernization is talent.
Public sector tech teams are often understaffed, underpaid, and tasked with maintaining systems they didn’t build. Recruitment is difficult. Retention is harder. A growing number of state and local IT departments cite “talent shortages” as their top operational risk.
But mission still matters. What public agencies lack in compensation, they can offer in purpose—if they market it right. The new wave of digital service teams, emerging in places like Colorado, California, and New York City, is proving that top-tier talent will show up for civic work—if it’s meaningful, flexible, and impact-driven.
Building a strong digital culture also means investing in training. Change management must be a priority. Teams need to feel confident in navigating new tools and valued for doing so. Without that foundation, digital transformation quickly becomes digital fatigue.
But when people are resourced, respected, and rallied around a mission, real change becomes possible. And there are living examples of exactly that.
Leading from the front: What success looks like
The most successful modernization efforts share three ingredients: they are user-centered, strategically funded, and politically backed.
Take Fairfax County, Virginia. In 2023, the county launched a complete overhaul of its permitting system. Instead of redesigning around bureaucracy, they began with community input from residents and local businesses. The result? Faster processing times, better transparency, and a model that other counties are now studying.
Or Colorado, where the Office of Information Technology partnered across agencies to create a digital identity platform that consolidates access to multiple public services. Not only was this a tech win, but it was backed by an innovation budget and championed at the highest level of government.
In both cases, the lesson is clear: modernization is a governance strategy.
When tech is governance
In an era of climate instability, cybersecurity threats, and growing demands for equity and efficiency, the role of public technology has never been more critical—or more political.
What’s needed now is a clear purpose, smart investment, and the courage to retire systems that no longer serve, because public trust is fragile, and in today’s world, digital failure is public failure. When people can’t access their benefits, submit an application, or pay their taxes because a form doesn’t load or a platform times out, the cost is democratic.
The hard truth? Upgrading local government technology is a policy decision. In 2025, failing to modernize will be a choice—and one with real consequences.
But here’s the good news: the path forward is clear. Define the mission. Empower the teams. Reform procurement. Build with users in mind.
Because when the system ages out, what comes next can’t just be an upgrade. It has to be a reimagining.
