Government employees across the state of Ohio are actively working to build cultures of efficiency. Civic tech is on the rise as a vital solution to this problem.
So who is driving this initiative? The Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is leading this charge to create more efficient government bodies across state, county, and municipal levels. Specifically, a branch of the DAS known as LeanOhio has been created to help ensure government services in Ohio “simpler, faster, better, and less costly” according to their website. Ultimately, their goal is to provide quality, centralized services, specialized support and innovative solutions to state agencies…as well as local governments.
Uncertainty
Building a culture around working efficiently can have numerous benefits. However, without being able to show true cost and time savings through their efforts, administrators can be caught in a never-ending initiative to cut down on wasteful habits without a clear answer of just how. Investing in methods to become more efficient should be done with due diligence to ensure ventures are reliable and long-lasting.
Local government budgets are still a hot-button issue in Ohio. Across the country cuts are still necessary despite several states achieving budget surpluses this year. Ohio is no different, and although the state is $800 million dollars ahead of their budget, much of these funds are predicted to be dedicated to tax cuts. Whichever way these funds are eventually distributed, local governments should always be fiscally responsible about how they are using their existing resources.
Solution
Indeed, the attitude of efficiency is here to stay in Ohio for a much more meaningful purpose: to deliver better services to citizens by using every tax dollar responsibly. Governments have a fiduciary duty to citizens to provide the best possible service for them. For municipal and county administrators leading their team of staff members, Granicus has a solution at almost every turn.
Cities like Walnut Creek in California have been able to save an average of $34,000 a year in administrative costs by adopting a more efficient system for their public meetings. Time spent responding to public information requests, packet production, and transcription of minutes were all streamlined to help recognize these cost savings for the city, you can read more about it here. In Ohio, the City of Bexley utilizes the exact same technology that Walnut Creek has had success with here in California, and both solutions have made their governments become more efficient. We’re starting to see other cities across Ohio starting to follow this trend: adopting digital and mobile agenda solutions to improve cost-efficiency.
Is there a paper intensive process to create and distribute agendas to elected officials and the public? Your administration can implement a digital agenda and public records solution. Does your county or municipal clerk spend hours or even days of work documenting and recording minutes after adjournment? A solution can be implemented to automate minutes during meetings as official public record.
There are so many issues to focus on when being held responsible for a community’s needs, that information technology can become an overlooked issue for administrators and elected officials. Granicus focuses exclusively on government for that very reason–to make it easier for government leaders to make technology decisions that actually lead to responsible and reliable service for their citizens. By adopting a system that has proven success in cost savings, administrators in Ohio can rest assured that their staff is taking a step in the right direction amidst the profound renewal of their office culture.
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