City officials ask Council to fund Department of Innovation and Technology’s digital equity, CRM and infrastructure projects

Boston officials asked the City Council on May 1 to approve FY26 funding for the Department of Innovation and Technology (DOIT), emphasizing digital equity programs, technology modernization and cybersecurity as priorities.

DOIT Director-level staff and program leads told the Council’s Committee on Ways and Means that their request would fund ongoing projects including a permitting and licensing transformation, replacement and rollout of a new constituent relationship management system (CRM) tied to 311, expansion of the Cartograph asset and work-order system, continued investments in cybersecurity and pilots to expand public Wi‑Fi in transit hubs and neighborhoods.

DOIT leaders said the work matters because reliable connectivity, devices and skills are prerequisites for residents to use city services, apply for jobs and enroll children in Boston Public Schools. Councilors and nonprofit partners used the hearing to press DOIT on how programs will serve public housing residents, seniors, non‑English speakers and other groups the city’s survey identified as digitally vulnerable.

Santiago Garces, Chief Information Officer for the City of Boston, described operational improvements and savings tied to centralizing licenses and standardizing devices. "By standardizing to a laptop, we're able to ensure that people have the ability of working in different locations," Garces said during the presentation. He told the committee DOIT identified roughly 400 redundant devices and is consolidating licenses for tools such as Zoom and DocuSign to extend resources without incurring additional cost.

Brian Donahue, Chief Digital Equity Officer and Director of Broadband and Cable, presented results from a recent digital equity survey DOIT completed last year and described targeted work under way. The survey found about 24% of respondents reported affordability concerns for home internet and about 25% reported low internet speeds; 47% said they wanted help with digital skills. Donahue said seniors, veterans, public housing residents, people receiving government assistance and formerly incarcerated…