Chattanooga, Tenn., Mayor Tim Kelly announced that his administration has tapped Jerele Neeld as the city’s new chief information officer (CIO).

The city of Chattanooga, Tenn., is making a strong push to modernize its digital platforms for essential city services. The city said the push towards digital modernization is “an important step in the city’s journey to becoming a more data-driven civic organization delivering secure and effective services to local residents and key community stakeholders.”

The mayor of Chattanooga, Tenn., pushed back today on the notion that 5G wireless services hold the key for rolling out big “smart-cities” technology improvements, and instead said his city’s gigabit fiber network can handle the job just fine.