Oct 08
2009
Software helping with neighborhood complaints / code enforcement but
It is encouraging to see that in a recent survey conducted by Mustel Group and sponsored by us (BasisGov) that software is being used by local governments to help manage neighborhood complaints (code enforcement) but there is still a myth among the non-users that it is costly.
- Approximately 80% said that the foreclosure crisis has resulted in an increase in citizen complaints over the past year;
- The most frequent complaints were overgrown yards (87%), property damage (61%) and garbage dumping (47%);
- 88% do not plan to increase staff to manage the overall problem;
- 79% of the municipalities surveyed use software applications to manage their code enforcement process and already one in four of those were using web-based software;
- among non-users, 61% thought cost a deterrent in planning to implement software.
With the rise in foreclosures, increase in related complaints at city halls and the freeze on hiring more staff, overcoming the high cost myth will help many municipalities.
Do you think cost is the only deterrent?
(Photo credit – http://www.flickr.com/photos/respres/ / CC BY 2.0)
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How many(and which) cities did you survey, what software/SaaS platforms are they using?
Hi Dan, There were 150 respondents with the majority being in California, Florida, Maine, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania. 122 Code enforcement Officers; 20 City Managers and 8 Mayors. Half the interviews were conducted with cities with a population of less than 50,000.
As for specific cities, I’ll email you the list but the research company, Mustel Group, doesn’t reveal the individual names or their responses due to confidentiality.
Of the 79% that currently use software to manage code enforcement process, 24% use web-based software. The survey didn’t ask what type of SaaS platform but that is a good follow on question.
Do you think there is a difference with bigger cities? Populations of 100,000-500,000 and up to 1 Million?
I don’t see why size would make a difference in the choice of technology… all that is needed is capacity to deal with user traffic. A small city will likely have the same services and processes–a 311 request has some standard parameters. Then it is a matter of data sharing on the backend…who gets what requests, and how this enters an internal workflow process.
Good point about the size of the city. I think what changes is the approval process with bigger cities. Do you see that?
Do you mean the approval process for technology purchases? Probably so.
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