Cities have been implementing digital systems for a few years now
And if you keep up with our blog, you know that 2017 is a major year for many cities and municipalities going digital. Choosing to embrace technology and make processes easier for city employees and citizens alike is a step in the right direction, but the success rate depends on choosing the right company to implement the software.
Back in 2014, Philadelphia’s then Mayor announced the city was upgrading to a computerized system
Claudia Vargas of Philly.com reported the mayor saying “We’ll spend some money, we’ll save some money, and we’ll make a lot of money,” in a 2014 news conference. He announced that the city would spend $4 million and it would be finished by 2015 – but fast forward to August 2017, and the system is still only halfway complete and the city has spent over $10 million.
Philly also wanted to move away from Excel pages as the go-to format for annual budgets, but after spending $1.6 million on a digital system that was supposed to be easier to use, the city withdrew from the contract.
City officials have currently said that the issues came along when they weren’t closely monitoring the vendors. Philly.com interviewed the founder of a firm that analyzes technology projects, who claimed that government funded projects often fail because they’re too big and too much money is involved.
This is when a city must decide which software company to choose.
Go with the big guns and risk losing an entire project? Or implement your e-permitting systems with a smaller company like CityForce – dedicated to working with cities of all sizes, giving them the support they need on only the features they need (nothing they don’t) and helping them every step of the way. With CityForce’s 3 programs (INSPECT, IMPACT & CONNECT) you can choose exactly which features would help optimize your city. Our features can help:
1. Schedule & track building permits
2. Manage applications, complaint filings and online payments
3. Perform scheduled building and site inspections from your mobile devices
And this is all at the cost of less than 1% of your annual budget. Ready to get your customized quote? Click here – or contact us and we’ll set up your 20 minute LIVE demo with one of our trusted team members.
Upgrade your city’s systems with the right company. Choose CityForce!
