Abstract

With COVID-19 causing cataclysmic detriments to national and local budgets, municipalities are in an impossible situation. They must adapt to the new realities of a remote workforce and socially distanced citizens by implementing new workflows heavily reliant on the technology they do not have in place today — and do it with less staff and less budget. Seemingly, the simple response to this expectation is to say it cannot be done and wait for funding to become available. Yet, every day that passes with citizens unable to conveniently interact with their local leaders through the types of digital channels they expect from the private sector is one more day in which citizens’ frustrations mount and their trust declines.

This white paper analyzes the current state of local government economies and demonstrates why local governments can gain efficiencies and earn positive long-term ROI by investing in modern tech, and why doing so will also help to save their relationships with their citizens.