The summer months are upon us and the local news is full of reports on Town Hall “short weeks.” Although this is good for the budget, it can have negative effects on local residents and businesses. The inability to request services on weekends and now Fridays or Mondays can make it difficult, particularly if you work or run a business that requires town support. But this issue results from “brick and mortar” town hall processes. When services can be requested from the web, these limitations disappear if town processes and employees are “web enabled”. For example, many permits can be applied and paid for via the web. Although physical inspections and drawings may be required for some permits, much of the application and tracking process can still occur 24 x7. If the inspectors and other department personnel are connected to the web, appointments, reviews and approvals become much more flexible.
The same also holds for other service requests, such as repairs or removals, that can be made over the web and responded to at any time. With the reducing cost of web connected phones and other devices, more and more citizens and town personnel can connect forming a virtual town hall that costs less to maintain but serves local citizens and businesses better than before!
On December 18, 2008, the Wall Street Journal ran the article “Compiling a To-Do List for Obama’s New Deal”. Now, seven months later as new stimulus funding discussions are in the news, I was struck by how eTown makes this earlier list relevant and actionable. First consider Transportation and Infrastructure. In eTown, residents and town hall are tied together through a web based service request system. Each resident becomes a sensor for the integrity of the transportation infrastructure and town hall is able to quickly address deficiencies while repair costs are still low. Another area, Energy Efficiency, is improved by replacing paper with digital communications and allowing interaction with a virtual town hall from home and business vs. travel by car and truck to physical energy consuming buildings. Similarly, School Building Repairs benefit from the same type of online service request system used for infrastructure with the added benefit of being able to share town and regional personnel, equipment and vendors to reduce the cost and time of maintenance and facility improvement actions. Finally, available Broadband and wireless communication connections enable the interactions of eTown. Digitized Records in the form of land and property information, codes and standards, plans and strategies, and meeting proposals and decisions provide the context for enabling residents, businesses and town officials to drive continuous improvements. In summary, eTown is the realization of the “New Deal” vision. Fortunately, the building blocks are all available and the stimulus incentives are in place for any town to become an eTown.
I recently read James Glassman’s book review “The Cyber Way to Knowledge” in the Wall Street Journal. The review of the book “Liberating Learning” by Terry Moe and John Chubb indicated several themes that resonate equally well with municipal governements. Just as K-12 education is faced with the need for reforms, so too are municipal services. The potential of technology to enable fewer teachers per student, outsourcing, accountability and cost savings applies equally well to municipal services. The parallels are too strong to ignore. I encourage reading this book as you think about taking municipal services to a higher levels of service, productivity and accountability - at lower cost.
A recent story from the Springfield Republican talks about reducing hours at city offices to reduce budget costs: “Easthampton budget cuts force reduced hours at muncipal offices“. In etown, offices may close but services are still available.
I was just reading an article about a consultant who recommended reducing the local town budget by sharing maintenance services between the town and the local school system. Although I don’t know how much sharing is possible based on needs, timing, and equipment/ material demands, it’s worth considering. For example, snow and leaf removal, grounds maintenance, and some building maintenance would appear to have common needs. Also, the ability to reduce costs by combining cleaning services and supplies also appear feasible. However, the realization of benefits requires an integrated approach to requesting, processing and executing requests that spans the different environments and jurisdictions of the municipal and educational systems. Web based service request management can provide the vehicle for linking these environments but the hard work of agreeing on services, processes, responsibilities and ”who pays for what” still remains. From my perspective, the hard work is justified. The savings appear to be large and, done appropriately, service can improve for both our children and our towns.
Government interaction in 140 characters or less? Good citizens are good tweeters? 24×7 dialog on things that matter to your town? Constructive interaction with town officials? Transparency or noise? Ultimate democracy or anarchy? Tweet @netizen1.
The Hartford Courant just reported on an upcoming meeting of “Municipalities to Discuss Energy-Saving Strategies“. In e-Town, there are many opportunities to reduce energy usage by municipalities and residents. By offering residents and local businesses Web based access to municipal services, town hall can reduce the hours of operation and save energy and maintenance as a result. Residents and businesses don’t need to travel to town hall saving gasoline and time. Through Web based service requests, the municipality can better plan dispatch routes and inspections, saving gas and time. The Web also enables multiple municipalities to share services and resources, opening additional energy saving alternatives. As a bonus, the Web eliminates the need for paper and all the associated production energy. Every municipality should explore the opportunities for energy savings through Web based services.