What does 'going digital’ mean?

Smartphones, clouds (the virtual ones not the actual ones), social media, data - all buzz terms and all terms we know. Except for being buzz terminology, these are also all part of the ‘The Digital Age’. Said to have started in the 1980s with personal computers, we now see it as a part of our daily lives to interact with our friends, colleagues and communities online. 

For local governments, going digital means taking an in-person or existing process and moving it online, using a website or an app. 

Municipal government software enables local government employees to streamline functions that would otherwise have taken up time and energy (and thus cost them money!)

Processes which can be automated: 

• Payments for licenses, bills or forms: accepting cash or checks as payment. Allocating an application number on all the relevant paperwork, depositing the checks, and filing the paperwork. Corresponding the application # with the payments and vice versa.
• Handling inquiries about taxes or utility bills
• Managing reservations for municipal facilities (such as parks, pavillions or municipal halls)while keeping the paper binder updated and blocking out dates filled out. 
• Coordinating the check-in and out procedures for these facilities and reimbursing deposit payments, when it's all done. 
• License or permit applications: email and telephone inquiries, coordinating paperwork going to various departments for their approval and informing the applicant of the progress and the outcome of the application.
• Coordinating annual applications for dog licenses and reminders to the owners. 
• Managing reports and relaying them to the correct department like a burst pipe, pothole or an electricity outage. 

Municipal management software, also known as e-government software (electronic government software), allows processes to be built into a streamlined workflow. This allows residents to conduct business on  your municipal website or on the app outside of your normal business hours.  24/7! Constituents can apply for licenses or permits after 5pm from the comfort of their own home! 

For the Clerk or local government superhero (you know you are!), automated processes can enable you to: 

• Continuously serve the community, because work can be done at all hours of the day.
• Spend time on the more important tasks
• Earn revenue for the municipality, for a project within the community 
• Help you love your job again (because we know you actually do!)
• Save time by having reports easily accessible,, which can be downloaded and passed to the Treasurer for reporting purposes. 

Digitization means you can meet your constituents where they’re at, online.