Everyone knows teams like the Los Angeles Lakers or the Dallas Cowboys. But who has heard of Sacramento Municipal Utility District Kings or the Denver Wastewater Management Broncos? Most people can identify with the city they live in, but can they do the same with another kind of government entity: special districts that provide them services? According to the last U.S. Census, there were over 37,000 special districts in the United States, roughly double the number of municipalities.
Special districts are the face of many government services, and need as much attention to their citizen experience as any other local agency. Special districts provide single-purpose services to residents such as water, power, libraries, mosquito control or airport services. Unlike municipal agencies that receive revenue from a variety of sources such as property, sales, hotel taxes or even state and federal funding; special districts receive most of their revenue from user fees. Therefore, many can opt-out of or reduce the services they receive, something taxpayers cannot do with other government services, such as their local building department or local property taxes program.
Structurally, special districts are organized like any municipality, and have a board of elected officials that set policy, a chief executive and staff that implement policy, and the constituents they serve. They also encounter many of the same challenges faced by cities, counties and towns; namely, an aging IT infrastructure that requires repair; legacy digital systems that have outlived their functional life, and antiquated paper-based systems that are as slow as they are inefficient.
Districts face greater demands today as pressure mounts to find ways to improve efficiency and provide greater value to their constituents. Some districts have realized the importance of providing an improved customer experience through back-office technology, like Fox River Water Reclamation District, whose cloud-driven ERP system enables speedy procurement and mobile field service to meet the demands of residents.
Districts need to provide updated IT systems to make it easier for customers to engage with their district, while increasing agency capacity and cutting costs. Tools that use artificial intelligence to provide customers greater control of when and where they chose to engage with their district rather than on the phone, manual forms or in person. Modern permitting tools that make it easier and more intuitive to work through an agency’s permitting and regulatory process. Today’s digital services should do more than provide static information on a stale website, but rather be powerful enough to engage in a complex exchange of questions and answers, available on any platform. Oracle’s policy automation tools help make this happen.
Customers today expect government service to be easy, complete and self-service, without the need to disrupt their day or wait on hold. A better citizen experience will lead to greater loyalty and increased usage. Although special districts will never have professional sports teams, they can be known for keeping their eye on the customer service ball.