Burlingame, CA Increasing Process Efficiency with OpenGov Operations Management Software

The Solution

Burlingame residents now head to AccessBurlingame on their smartphone or computer to find info on community services and events or instantly notify the City of non-emergency issues—such as downed trees, street light outages, or potholes. When those maintenance requests come in, they are passed directly into OpenGov, where crews can see and respond to requests in real time—automatically updating the citizen every step of the way.

“It’s really quite amazing. It’s really pretty seamless and we’re impressed with the way that it works,” says Karen Hager, management analyst.

Help make your citizens feel heard and respected and give them a glimpse behind the scenes to see all the hard work you’re doing for them.

The Results

By combining the power of OpenGov and SeeClickFix, the City of Burlingame has successfully bridged the communication gap with their citizens. Operations are smoother than ever, and citizens are thrilled to be in-the-know and more involved in their community.

Improved efficiency: “Before, we were creating duplicate work for staff. Somebody would need to look in SeeClickFix to see what the issue was and then go into OpenGov to create the task,” says Dawdy. “Then, they wanted to update that issue so the public would know about it, and they would go back into SeeClickFix to update the status.” Today, the integration eliminates the back and forth and the need to enter duplicate information in multiple systems. In addition to the time savings, staff can work in the solution they’re most comfortable in and let the systems do the talking behind the scenes.

Increased understanding: When a citizen attaches photos to their SeeClickFix request, they are included on the OpenGov maintenance task. Burlingame crews can quickly review the images to get a better understanding of the issue—and the types of materials and equipment they may need—all before arriving on scene.

Improved data quality: With two cohesive systems, the city now knows how long it takes to conquer the task at hand. Through timestamps, teams know exactly when a request is submitted, received, and completed. When talking about how OpenGov has impacted the city, Dawdy says “We ended up doing the same things we’d always been taking care of, now we just had documentation that we were doing it. It really helps us measure and maintain that level of customer service that we want to provide here in Burlingame.”

Clearer expectations: Through the OpenGov-SeeClickFix integration, Burlingame has been able to better educate their citizens on the infrastructure maintenance process—and properly manage their expectations. “This has been a perfect opportunity to keep things transparent, but also let citizens know things don’t happen in 24 hours—and to communicate those steps,” says Blackburn. “We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and we try to close requests within 3 business days.”

Well-Deserved Recognition: Burlingame received OpenGov’s Flag Forward Award in 2019 for the smart way they integrate technology to improve customer service. The award recognizes customers who are forward-thinking and innovative. By embracing an open systems philosophy and leveraging data across various platforms, Burlingame is setting the bar for a new era of high-performance government.