Government accountability is hard to achieve and even harder to prove.
You remember the United States’ own Government Accountability Office conference scandal in 2015, right? Even the corruption overseers are sometimes completely corrupt. Rastrac has a set of tools that can help municipal governments leverage technology to show hard data points that prove municipal responsibility when planning and executing new initiatives.
Local governments have a responsibility to their citizens to act with integrity and transparency. This means ensuring that all decision-making processes are fair, open, and free from any form of corruption or abuse of power. It also means providing clear information on the services they offer and how public funds are being used.
Being able to back up decisions with hard facts, case studies from other municipalities, success stories, and above all, data will enable local governments to stay in the good graces of their constituents.
There are a number of ways that municipalities track and measure their initiatives’ success (or failures) and work to improve efficiency to make the best of limited taxpayer-funded resources. Let’s dive into some of the options.
Setting standards or benchmarking provide clear expectations for the performance of municipal governments, making it easier to assess whether they are meeting their obligations. By establishing benchmarks and indicators, standards make it easier to measure whether municipal governments are meeting their goals and targets.
This transparency can help build trust with citizens and stakeholders, as well as promote more effective communication between government officials and the public. When standards are established, they can be enforced through audits, inspections, and other oversight mechanisms. This can help ensure that municipal governments are following established rules and regulations and can help prevent corruption and unethical behavior.
Holding local government employees to an impeccable standard is essential to ensure that they are serving the public to the best of their ability. When employees are held to high standards of conduct and performance, it helps build trust and confidence in the government and its ability to serve the community.
When using data from systems like fleet tracking software, you can glean massive amounts of information to understand how municipal vehicles operate. However, with this information, it is important to take into account a few factors.
First, you need to ensure that any hardware or software you invest in is properly installed, and that employees understand how to use it. You should also check systems routinely to account for any disabled data sources or sources that are being manipulated or used incorrectly. If you’re going to invest in collecting data to improve initiatives and increase transparency, it is important that the data is correct, and calibrated regularly.
Data also needs to be available to the public in a timely manner. In some jurisdictions, there may be legal requirements for the disclosure of certain types of data within a certain period of time. We like to encourage municipalities to invest in real-time data tracking that they can share with the public for things like street cleaning, snow removal, law enforcement or emergency service responses.
Fleet management tracking software is an excellent way to show your community you’re serious about investing in improving accountability and transparency.
GPS tracking can be used by local governments to hold employees accountable in several ways. GPS tracking can be used to monitor the location and movements of government vehicles and equipment, which can help local governments ensure that their employees are using these resources efficiently and effectively. This can help reduce fuel consumption, prevent unauthorized use of government vehicles, and ensure that employees are completing their assigned tasks.
GPS tracking can help local governments ensure that their employees are showing up to work on time and leaving at the appropriate time. GPS tracking can help verify the times when employees arrive and depart from job sites, ensuring that they are working their scheduled hours.
A fleet tracking system allowing custom data presentation dashboards is a great way to stay connected with the community. You can share real-time data online, with complete transparency. You can customize the system to show the data points that are most important to your community and segment dashboards for different purposes. You could have the winter street clearing dashboard and then switch it out for the fall leaf removal dashboard. It really depends on your community’s needs.
The City of Dallas has implemented an automated fleet management system called to improve the efficiency and accountability of its fleet operations. The system uses GPS tracking and other technologies to provide real-time data on the location, condition, and maintenance needs of the city's vehicles and equipment.
The system has several features that help the City of Dallas manage its fleet more effectively. These include:
Vehicle tracking: The system uses GPS technology to track the location of each vehicle in the fleet. This allows the city to monitor vehicle usage and ensure that vehicles are being used efficiently.
Maintenance scheduling: The system provides automated scheduling for vehicle maintenance based on usage and mileage. This helps the city keep its fleet in good condition and avoid breakdowns.
Fuel management: The system tracks fuel consumption and provides detailed reports on fuel usage, allowing the city to identify areas where it can reduce fuel consumption and save money.
Inventory management: The system provides real-time inventory management for vehicle parts and supplies, helping the city manage its inventory more efficiently and reduce costs.
By implementing a GPS tracking system, the City of New Orleans has been able to improve the efficiency and accountability of its fleet operations. The system provides real-time data on the location, condition, and maintenance needs of the city's vehicles, helping the city manage its fleet more effectively and reduce costs. It also helps ensure that vehicles are being used efficiently and provides detailed reports on fuel usage, which can help the city reduce its carbon footprint. Overall, the GPS tracking system is a valuable tool for the City of New Orleans in managing its fleet operations and improving its overall sustainability.
Rastrac’s StreetComplete can help your local government get a handle on transparency and accountability by showing an investment in using technology to analyze policy and improve community initiatives