Field notes,
for the people who connect city systems.
Practical articles on integrations in local government: privacy, permitting, records, GIS, finance files and running it all reliably.
Everything we’ve written.
Newest first. Most pieces take 4 to 6 minutes.
Where did this record go? Tracing a record across systems
When an auditor, a resident or a records request asks what happened to one record, integrations are often a blind spot. How to trace a record by ID across every flow, without keeping its contents.
Read article →Value maps: the code tables behind clean integrations
One system says Public Works, another wants PW. Value maps translate codes between systems in one place, so every flow agrees and nothing is quietly mistranslated.
Read article →Running a flow when a database row changes
Three ways to start a flow when rows change in a city database: polling with a changed-column watermark, SQL Server Change Tracking, and PostgreSQL LISTEN/NOTIFY. When to use each.
Read article →Webhooks vs polling for city systems
Should a flow wait for a system to call in, or ask it for changes on a schedule? Here is how to choose, how to make each one safe, and what to do with databases.
Read article →Running integrations on an air-gapped network
Some agencies keep key systems on networks with no internet access. Integration still has to happen there. What to look for in a platform that runs fully inside a closed network.
Read article →Data inspection before you integrate
Most integration problems are data problems: blank fields, odd formats, unexpected codes. Looking at real records at every step before you go live catches them early.
Read article →Choosing between iPaaS, ETL and custom scripts for local government
Three common ways to connect city systems, what each is good at, and the questions that matter for a public agency: data retention, staff skills, and who fixes it at 2 am.
Read article →Approvals in automated flows
Some steps should wait for a person: publishing an agenda, releasing a payment file. How to add an approval to an automated flow without parking a copy of the data while it waits.
Read article →What an OpenAPI file is, and why it saves weeks
An OpenAPI file describes an API in a way software can read: addresses, sign-in, records and fields. If your vendor has one, connecting to their system gets much faster.
Read article →Filing agendas and minutes in Laserfiche automatically
Clerks publish agendas and minutes, then file them again in the records system. Here is how to file them automatically, in the right folder for each board, with meeting metadata attached.
Read article →GIS publishing from your permit database
Your permits already have coordinates. Here is how to get issued permits onto an ArcGIS layer every night, without exports, shapefiles or a GIS analyst's Friday afternoon.
Read article →Connecting 311 to Accela without custom code
Code-enforcement complaints arrive in 311 and are worked in Accela. Here is how to connect the two in both directions, what Accela requires first, and where cities usually get stuck.
Read article →SFTP is not dead: bank files and billing exports
Banks, lockbox processors and billing vendors still deliver files over SFTP. Here is how to read them safely, check every row, and stop someone from re-keying payments.
Read article →Why your integrations shouldn't keep a copy of resident data
Most integration tools quietly keep a copy of every record they move. For a city, that copy is a liability. Here is what pass-through integration means and why it matters.
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