A well-established marketing tactic is to give something away for free so that potential customers have a chance to try a product or service with the hope that prospects will become customers. The reality is that companies never give away anything of value. Depending on the product, free things can sometimes end up costing you more than getting the right thing the first time and paying the going price. The saying that nothing comes for free is especially true for electronic applications. Technology has advanced to a degree such that apps are a dime a dozen. The wonderful thing about that is … [Read more...] about The Risks of Free Agenda Management Software
I'm a City Clerk
Why is Transparency Critical in Local Government?
Local citizens do their best to vet their political candidates to ensure they get public officials into office that are honest, have integrity, and will work for the best interests of the community. When the media comes forth with news about fraud in government, it’s a huge letdown, especially when it happens in local government. Secrecy creates an environment where there is the potential for the lack of accountability and abuse of power. When information about how a local government operates isn’t forthcoming, it causes the public to be skeptical. Best practices for good governance … [Read more...] about Why is Transparency Critical in Local Government?
How Clerks Can Apply Agenda Management for Lighter Workloads
The clerk’s desk contains a highway of important paperwork. Not too many documents circulate around a municipal government office without getting touched by the city clerk. The municipal clerk’s job is a fast-paced, multifaceted career that requires much multitasking and squeezing work in every minute that they can. Most clerks will readily tell you that they’re ready to hear any solution that helps to save time and lighten their load. On a positive note, iCompass, a Diligent brand, designed an electronic agenda management tool and several other software solutions to streamline the clerk’s … [Read more...] about How Clerks Can Apply Agenda Management for Lighter Workloads
Consent Agenda Template for Municipalities
The list of duties that a municipal clerk has to do far surmounts the available hours in the day to get things done. Clerks respond to citizen’s requests, pull documents, develop council meeting agendas, and in general, keep the office humming. One of the most time-consuming duties for city clerks is setting up council meetings. The entire meeting centers around one extremely important document—the agenda. Clerks have to prioritize agenda items so that the council addresses all the important business first. That’s challenging because they usually have so many items on the agenda to … [Read more...] about Consent Agenda Template for Municipalities
Effective Spending Tactics for Your Municipality’s Fiscal Year Budget
Municipal governments have many bases to cover as they prepare their fiscal year budgets and make decisions about how to adjust it as budgetary needs change and arise. Many situations may arise over the course of a year that create changes in the budget, but what won’t change is that municipal governments will continue to be tightly and highly scrutinized. Citizens of today have greater expectations for transparency and accountability. One of the greatest challenges that public administrators have is finding an appropriate balance between basic operations and the expectations of their … [Read more...] about Effective Spending Tactics for Your Municipality’s Fiscal Year Budget
What is Modern Governance?
Governance has struggled to keep pace with today’s local government landscape. The world we live in is switched on, digital and decentralized. Cyberattacks can originate from anywhere in the world. Social media amplifies the voice of every citizen and staff member. In a world where nanoseconds count, old governance practices aren’t just out of date; they’re exposing today’s local government organizations to the kinds of risks that can lead to crises. And there’s no shortage of examples these days... Cyber breaches. Poor tone at the top. Employee misbehavior gone viral. These are the things … [Read more...] about What is Modern Governance?