Local governments face a familiar challenge of needing to balance tight budgets and rate pressures, with rising community expectations for reliable infrastructure and rapid service delivery. In response, forward-thinking councils are turning to smart city technologies to optimise public assets, streamline maintenance, and improve resource allocation. At its core, a "smart city" is not about futuristic gimmicks or technology for its own sake. A smart city integrates connected digital technologies, such as sensors and data networks into physical public infrastructure to be more efficient, sustainable and liveable. By equipping assets like drainage networks, bins, vehicles, buildings, and public lighting with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, councils can gather granular, real-time spatial data. This informs capital works planning, asset life-cycle management, predictive maintenance schedules, and resource allocation, which in turn helps infrastructure work smarter for both residents and businesses. Globally, several European cities have demonstrated the long-term dividends of early smart technology investments. Over a decade ago, Barcelona City Council deployed a comprehensive network of IoT sensors, including dynamic smart streetlighting, real-time soil moisture sensors in public parks, and fill-level sensors in municipal waste containers. Through these initiatives, they achieved a 25% decrease in park water use, saving approximately €425,000 annually, and a 30% reduction in energy use across their lighting network. Equally, Zurich has been ranked number one on the International Institute for Management Development’s Smart City Index for seven consecutive years. A pioneer in smart city innovation, Zurich has deployed dynamic streetlighting to reduce energy consumption, integrated public transport systems onto a single cohesive digital platform, and used real-time sensor data to improve traffic flow, waste management, and public services. Closer to home, local councils in Victoria are also leading the way in smart city innovation. At the City of Stonnington, their smart city journey began in 2020 with