Community priorities for smart city technologies, the current status of smart city initiatives, procurement patterns, and motivators and barriers to the implementation of smart city technologies were just a few of the topics explored during a recent survey of local governments conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in partnership with the Smart Cities Council.  Nearly half (49 percent) of survey respondents identified smart city technologies as a top priority in the public-safety sector, but smart payments and finance was the technology area in which responding communities are most active, with 60 percent of respondents identifying initiatives in this area as actively deployed. Also included in the top five technology areas with initiatives in active deployment were customer service/public engagement (40 percent), energy (39 percent), water and wastewater (38 percent) and telecommunications (36 percent). Survey: Smart Cities Top Priority in Public-Safety Sector