Case Study | City of Baldwin, Georgia
City of Baldwin
City of Baldwin, GA
With a population under 5,000 residents, Baldwin’s small staff was still able to create a 'big city' online presence by replacing their outdated website with a communications solution including a modern website, improved publication processes, and services offerings with no additional IT support required.
“SpotlightCMS, the administrative portal used to manage content is very user-friendly. There are no IT skills required so anyone can use it. And I like that it allows me to publish information and content."
Emily Woodmaster, City of Baldwin
The City of Baldwin's outdated website made communicating and accessing information difficult for both the city and its residents.
The City of Baldwin had a very basic website that relied on WordPress, an open-source website framework with known security issues.
After over 10 years of use, it was showing its age. It required manual code changes to make site updates, caused residents to receive numerous browser alerts whenever they visited it, and did not offer mobile-friendly options. This compounded the problems inherent with a lack of resources and an understaffed team. Most of the service request forms were manual Word or PDF forms, which limited their usefulness for citizens on the go who may want to report something like a broken streetlight. They also required more time to process on the part of city staff.
Subsequently, the City of Baldwin had problems communicating important information like water outages and public works repairs, and citizens had problems communicating issues to the City. Publishing the City Council and board meeting agendas, minutes, and audio/video recordings was very challenging and often impossible. Residents had trouble finding even basic information, which led to large call volumes to City Hall (90% of which were routed directly to the City Clerk). This also led the City to become over-reliant on their Facebook account to share information, causing the residents who don't use Facebook, for privacy or other reasons, to miss important announcements. The city needed a way to post important information across its many distribution channels for its citizens to easily access, as well as ensure that feedback and service request tools for residents were convenient to use.
The City of Baldwin improved communication with residents by upgrading its website and implementing a new engagement tool.
Although smaller in size than other communities, the City of Baldwin was able to upgrade to an enterprise-grade website that greatly improved their ability to communicate important information to their residents while also not breaking their budget.
The City partnered with ITsimple to create a new secure and ADA compliant modern website with a refreshed design that provided better access to both information and services. The upgrade process was collaborative, with ITsimple representatives providing support to the City Clerk during every step, including visiting the city to take photos for the new website.
ITsimple helped the City of Baldwin not just upgrade their website, but also implement a new communications and publications solution that enabled them to quickly and easily share important information with their residents. Previously, site updates required manual code changes which led to an overreliance on Facebook as a communication solution. It was a time-consuming process and slow to provide critical information when necessary. But with SpotlightCMS, the city can now quickly and easily make content changes to the site and simultaneously publish those changes across all their social media accounts from one user-friendly dashboard. And they can do it with no IT support required.
SpotlightCMS pairs with free end-user apps like It’sMyTown and CityGuards that put information and services in one location for residents and make it far easier for them to engage and find the information they need. The apps are freely available from Apple and Google app stores and help build a sense of community and support local engagement. Unlike other online platforms, no registration is required to use It’sMyTown by ITsimple and no personal information is gathered or stored, eliminating privacy concerns for residents and liability risk for municipalities.
Over 50% reduction in incoming information request calls made to City Hall.
100% online presence. The city can easily manage its new ADA-compliant website, a native mobile app with It’sMyTown, and portal integration to Facebook, through a single dashboard.
100% government transparency. Increased transparency with residents, as required coverage of public meeting agendas, minutes, and recordings, are now publicly accessible through the website.
Zero (0) technical knowledge required to operate. Only one (1) training session was needed,
3700 residents (representing nearly 80% of the households) have downloaded the app, enabling more direct engagement with the city and services.
Small companies can provide the same quality as a more established firm while also doing it more affordably and with better customer service.
Having a secure web site and not storing user data can save many compliance headaches and fines that result from a breach.
ITsimple believes in extraordinary customer service, both in how they treat their customers and in how they enable governments to serve their citizens with better information and access to services. When Baldwin's staff didn't have a resource available to take HD images, they sent a member of their team to do it for them! They will go to whatever lengths it takes to ensure their customers can offer the same level of customer service to their residents.
Any small or midsize local government looking to upgrade their website and improve resident communications and engagement with a real online presence.
Problem Addressed
The City of Baldwin's outdated website made communicating and accessing information difficult for both the city and its residents.
The City of Baldwin had a very basic website that relied on WordPress, an open-source website framework with known security issues.
After over 10 years of use, it was showing its age. It required manual code changes to make site updates, caused residents to receive numerous browser alerts whenever they visited it, and did not offer mobile-friendly options. This compounded the problems inherent with a lack of resources and an understaffed team. Most of the service request forms were manual Word or PDF forms, which limited their usefulness for citizens on the go who may want to report something like a broken streetlight. They also required more time to process on the part of city staff.
Subsequently, the City of Baldwin had problems communicating important information like water outages and public works repairs, and citizens had problems communicating issues to the City. Publishing the City Council and board meeting agendas, minutes, and audio/video recordings was very challenging and often impossible. Residents had trouble finding even basic information, which led to large call volumes to City Hall (90% of which were routed directly to the City Clerk). This also led the City to become over-reliant on their Facebook account to share information, causing the residents who don't use Facebook, for privacy or other reasons, to miss important announcements. The city needed a way to post important information across its many distribution channels for its citizens to easily access, as well as ensure that feedback and service request tools for residents were convenient to use.
Solutions Used
The City of Baldwin improved communication with residents by upgrading its website and implementing a new engagement tool.
Although smaller in size than other communities, the City of Baldwin was able to upgrade to an enterprise-grade website that greatly improved their ability to communicate important information to their residents while also not breaking their budget.
The City partnered with ITsimple to create a new secure and ADA compliant modern website with a refreshed design that provided better access to both information and services. The upgrade process was collaborative, with ITsimple representatives providing support to the City Clerk during every step, including visiting the city to take photos for the new website.
ITsimple helped the City of Baldwin not just upgrade their website, but also implement a new communications and publications solution that enabled them to quickly and easily share important information with their residents. Previously, site updates required manual code changes which led to an overreliance on Facebook as a communication solution. It was a time-consuming process and slow to provide critical information when necessary. But with SpotlightCMS, the city can now quickly and easily make content changes to the site and simultaneously publish those changes across all their social media accounts from one user-friendly dashboard. And they can do it with no IT support required.
SpotlightCMS pairs with free end-user apps like It’sMyTown and CityGuards that put information and services in one location for residents and make it far easier for them to engage and find the information they need. The apps are freely available from Apple and Google app stores and help build a sense of community and support local engagement. Unlike other online platforms, no registration is required to use It’sMyTown by ITsimple and no personal information is gathered or stored, eliminating privacy concerns for residents and liability risk for municipalities.
Outcomes
Over 50% reduction in incoming information request calls made to City Hall.
100% online presence. The city can easily manage its new ADA-compliant website, a native mobile app with It’sMyTown, and portal integration to Facebook, through a single dashboard.
100% government transparency. Increased transparency with residents, as required coverage of public meeting agendas, minutes, and recordings, are now publicly accessible through the website.
Zero (0) technical knowledge required to operate. Only one (1) training session was needed.
3700 residents (representing nearly 80% of the households) have downloaded the app, enabling more direct engagement with the city and services.
Lessons Learned
Small companies can provide the same quality as a more established firm while also doing it more affordably and with better customer service.
Having a secure web site and not storing user data can save many compliance headaches and fines that result from a breach.
Something Unique
ITsimple believes in extraordinary customer service, both in how they treat their customers and in how they enable governments to serve their citizens with better information and access to services. When Baldwin's staff didn't have a resource available to take HD images, they sent a member of their team to do it for them! They will go to whatever lengths it takes to ensure their customers can offer the same level of customer service to their residents.
Who should consider
Any small or midsize local government looking to upgrade their website and improve resident communications and engagement with a real online presence.
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