Why would someone choose your city?

What makes a citizen want to live in your city? Why does a business choose to move to your city?

While there are countless motivators and strains of logic that could answer these questions, I challenge you to think about this in more detail.

During a recent visit to a city in Michigan, I talked to a newly appointed Emergency Manager — we’ll call him Ted — who’s been tasked with finding and implementing processes, policies, and procedures to help reduce the mind-blowing debt that threatens to crush the city’s economy. 

The big question: how can a city generate more tax revenue?

The most obvious answer is to bring in more businesses and citizens. So Ted polled dozens of small to large companies around the United States and asked what would make them want to do business in his city.

Aside from the typical demographic-type responses, the resounding answer was the ease of doing business.  And a key to that is making frequently used processes and services as straightforward, convenient, and efficient as possible.

Take for example, permitting. Sometimes, without even realizing it, a city creates something of a scavenger hunt within its permitting system.  Why not make it easier?

In a world where it takes little more than an internet connection to pay our bills, do our banking, and attend important meetings, many public sector agencies still expect customers to show up at the City Clerk’s window, take a number, and wait in line.

Businesses want the ability to do business online. If a California company wants to open a new restaurant in Michigan, why not make it easy for them to do so?

How does your city compare to others that are dedicated to making it easy for business owners to do business?

• Are you making them appear in-person to submit plans and pay fees?
• If they do take the time to come in, will their submission be handled in a timely manner?
• How do they know where their plans sit in the inspection process?
• In cases where plans need to be re-submitted, do they really have to come to the city clerk’s office again?

What about citizens?  What are you doing to make your community a place where people want to live?  Much like the business owner, citizens have a great appreciation for processes and services that are straightforward, convenient, and efficient.

Take, for example, a common revenue capturing event that citizens regularly partake in — building/construction.  Let’s say I want to add a garage onto my existing home.

• How easy is it for me to get my permits and pay my fees?
• What if I’m travelling during this process and don’t have the time to stop into the clerk’s office?
• Can I schedule my inspection online?
• What fees do I have to pay anyway?
• Why can’t I just pay online?
• Why is my city paying for someone to re-enter all of this data twice? Isn’t that a waste?

While these questions may seem relatively logical, many cities are hesitant to implement a systemized approach to the building process for both businesses and citizens.

The upside is that once a city figures this out and takes the step to engage, they have automatically produced a more efficient, sustainable, and revenue generating solution.

Win-win! 

Click here to find out how Cartegraph can help you improve your agency’s Compliance and Community Development processes.