Northern Grampians Shire in Victoria and Leeton Shire in New South Wales recently signed up for Civica’s Authority Local Government management software, with both seeking a single enterprise solution that delivers improved customer service through streamlined workflows and the use of web based applications.
New technologies enthusiastically embraced at Northern Grampians
Management and staff at Northern Grampians Shire in western Victoria are looking forward to huge improvements in efficiency when their Authority software goes live in July this year.
Instead of having disparate technology from multiple vendors, they will rely on a single integrated system supported by Civica that will allow them to deliver better service to their customers.
“At present our Planning and Building departments’ work is not integrated with Finance, but Authority will allow our officers to process planning and building applications and seamlessly issue receipts,” said Keith White, General Manager Corporate Services.
“This is just one example of the significant improvements in efficiency we anticipate.
“Civica offered the best long term solution. Our decision was all about securing our technology future with the most effective system and making sure the applications we chose were bullet proof in the long term.
“Civica’s response was very professional. Their substantial customer base had a strong influence on our decision, and their solution fitted our technology framework.
“Civica also offers a strong project management methodology, which gives us confidence that the systems will be implemented on time, despite our tight timeframe.”
When Phase 1 is operational, Authority will deliver a broad spectrum of new functionality. This will yield operational benefits, including automated workflow, more efficient payroll processing, faster and more detailed management reports, and unified working methods that require just a single input for all data.
“The new system will also help by obliging us to re-engineer some of our processes, and this will give us greater efficiency in a number of areas,” Keith White said. “For instance, we have a small Finance team and Authority will assist them in delivering good outcomes.”
Council’s management also look forward to using Civica’s e-Services, which will allow both staff and customers to access information and transact business via the Internet.
Even simple operations, like applying for leave online, will save a great deal of time and effort. Enabling customers to make Planning and Building applications online, and to check the progress of their requests, will improve efficiency further still.
Northern Grampians Shire, which already has a reputation in western Victoria as a leader in technology, sees its partnership with Civica extending that status well into the future.
New technologies have been embraced enthusiastically in Northern Grampians Shire, with telecommunications and e-commerce delivery providing opportunities for business expansion, diversification and investment. Civica’s Authority application will further this tradition.
Leeton looking to work smarter
Management and staff at Leeton Shire Council, in the New South Wales Riverina area, are also looking forward to working smarter and receiving better information and reporting capabilities after going live with Civica’s Authority Local Government management software solution in early March.
“It’s early days yet, but down the track this is a system we can grow with,” said Director Corporate Services, John Batchelor.
Leeton’s IT Working Group is developing an ongoing strategy for information and communications technology for 2008 and beyond.
“The Working Group will look at priorities for implementing the Authority EDM, Assets, Customer Request System and e-Services applications and consider other areas of interest too,” John Batchelor said.
He said Council staff are already benefiting from being able to generate certificates automatically instead of manually, and being able to work smarter in general.
“Our Needs Analysis showed that Authority meets current and identified future business requirements in relation to data capture. The technology also provides for dissemination of information to the public through streamlined workflows and portals such as the internet.”
*Copy supplied by Civica
