Smart Cities, Human Impact- Jeff Scheetz on tech Leadership in Government

Jeff Scheetz, Chief Information Officer, the City of Avondale

A seasoned IT leader with 20+ years of experience, Jeff Scheetz excels in driving enterprise technology strategy, innovation, and project delivery across sectors combining technical depth, executive leadership, and regulatory expertise to lead highimpact, multimillion-dollar initiatives in government and beyond.

In an exclusive interview with Govt CIO Outlook, he shared invaluable insights on balancing innovation with fiscal responsibility, fostering cross-departmental collaboration, modernizing municipal services, and aligning IT strategy with public service outcomes to deliver impactful, citizen-focused technology solutions.

1. What pivotal milestones and experiences in IT leadership roles have uniquely prepared you for your current role at the City of Avondale?

Throughout my career in the public and private sectors, I’ve taken on progressively challenging roles that have helped shape me into an adaptive IT leader. Early in my career, I was fortunate to learn from seasoned leaders who emphasized strong decision-making, strategic thinking, and peoplefocused leadership. Their influence helped build my leadership foundation.

I’ve always embraced change and sought out opportunities to grow—whether by leading cross-functional teams through major technology implementations, managing multimilliondollar IT budgets, or navigating the complexities of municipal government operations. I’ve also had the opportunity to lead teams through reorganizations and establish governance committees to align technology with organizational priorities.

One of the most pivotal moments was transitioning to IT leadership in the public sector, where I had to balance innovation with fiscal responsibility, compliance, and community impact. This experience strengthened my skills in governance, stakeholder engagement, and long-term planning.

Above all, I believe those who advance in leadership must have a mindset of continual learning, adaptation, willingness to listen, and drive change.

2. Supporting city departments versus serving the public often calls for different paces, priorities, and politics. How have you evolved your strategies to balance both worlds effectively?

Balancing internal department needs with public-facing service delivery requires a clear understanding of organizational priorities and community expectations. A shared understanding across departments is a key element to ensuring high-quality services are delivered internally or externally.

Internal needs are often urgent and operationally focused on urgent support calls, the need for new systems, or enhanced reporting. In contrast, public-facing services focus on availability, transparency, and user experience, often requiring a long-term vision and broader coordination.

To manage internal and external priorities, I’ve implemented structured governance and project intake processes to align urgency and impact with city goals. A key strategy is phased rollouts, which allow for early feedback, and quick changes, and produce more adaptive solutions.

3. How has your technology implementations at Avondale redefined the city’s approach to public service, and what makes them stand out from typical municipal practices?

My approach to technology implementation focuses on delivering value quickly and enhancing solutions as needed. I believe in delivering a product as quickly as possible so its benefits can be realized then focusing on the next step.

Key implementations have included the rollout of online services that enable residents to pay bills, submit service requests, schedule inspections, and engage with city services from any device. These systems are built with accessibility and convenience in mind, reducing the need for in-person visits and aligning with how people expect to interact with service providers in today’s digital world.

Our approach stands out from typical municipal practices because of our focus on cross-departmental collaboration and user experience. We focus on implementing systems that serve multiple departments, creating consistency for the citizens while standardizing our processes for employees.

This approach has helped the city modernize its application infrastructure and increase satisfaction through more responsive, efficient, and transparent public service delivery.

4. Government IT often faces budget constraints and legacy system challenges. How do you prioritize and balance innovation with fiscal responsibility?

One of the most challenging areas to address has been legacy systems. To address this, I have adopted a cloud-first strategy, which reduces dependency on legacy hardware and saves staff time maintaining and updating systems. Addressing legacy systems requires close collaboration with departments to communicate the risks and develop a plan together.

“Technology is only part of the equation real impact comes from aligning IT with the mission, people, and purpose of public service”

Innovation doesn’t always require a large investment. It can simply involve improving workflows, automation, or finding solutions in underutilized tools.

I view fiscal responsibility as finding solutions that meet immediate needs and offer functionality that can address multiple use cases.

Over the years, especially during tight or reduced budgets, I have found creative ways to pilot new technologies, reduce ongoing spending, and develop better relationships with partners and vendors to assist with enterprise projects.

Many of the systems managed by IT rely heavily on the business unit’s expertise. IT must partner with the departments to identify the needs, risks, and problem areas to move the organization forward.

5. How do you approach collaboration with public safety and emergency services teams to ensure the resilience and reliability of critical systems like SCADA and 911 dispatch?

I approach systems like SCADA and 911 dispatch as any other mission-critical system in the organization. Collaboration with public safety and emergency services starts with recognizing their subject matter expertise and building strong partnerships based on trust and shared goals.

Working closely with these departments to clearly define system criticality and develop appropriate support models that reflect their unique operational needs is critical. I prioritize regular meetings with key stakeholders from police, fire, EMS, and water services to stay aligned on system performance, planned updates, and incident response protocols. These conversations help anticipate needs and ensure IT is positioned to support 24/7 operations.

By partnering with the SMEs in these departments, we build shared accountability and deliver the reliability that public safety demands.

5. What advice would you give to emerging technology leaders who want to make a real impact in government or public service, beyond just modernizing infrastructure?

My advice is to focus on continual learning and adaptability. Public sector technology is constantly evolving not only in terms of tools, but in how it intersects with policy, community expectations, and limited resources. Leaders who make the most significant impact are those who remain open to learning, seek feedback, and aren’t afraid to adapt their approach when circumstances change.

It’s also important to remember that technology is only part of the equation. To truly make a difference, emerging leaders should focus on building relationships, understanding the mission of each department, and aligning IT efforts with the outcomes that matter to the public and the organization.

Finally, driving change in government takes patience, persistence, and political acumen. It’s not just about rolling out new systems it’s about influencing culture, improving services, and ensuring that technology serves people effectively and equitably.