Most small town Web sites are just what you'd expect, lot of static content, most of it out of date. Take the town I live in, for example, Lindon, UT. Our Web site is better than most. At least its built on some kind of portal software and there are occasional updates. Even so, I have been there a few times to look for things I knew were happening in the City or get information and came away disappointed.

The problem is that small towns don't have much of a staff. They rarely have anyone, even on a consulting basis, who does their IT. So, they limp along and do the best they can. Government Technology points to a small town in Missouri, Oak Grove that's an exception. The secret? Their new city manager is a former Web site designer. The secret sauce in eGovernment is a leader who has the right vision. Once that leader is in place, they'll find a way to make it happen, whether or not, they're an IT maven.