Departments in a large Georgia local government like Macon deal with a flurry of immediate needs on a daily basis. How can busy officials determine whether their city is working most effectively on the public’s behalf? In 2008, City of Macon leaders decided that finding a way was a priority.

With focus and attention to detail, experts in the Vinson Institute’s local government studies program systematically carried out an organizational review of more than 20 departments, an employee classification/compensation study, a financial processes review, a performance measurement program review, and citizen and employee satisfaction surveys. In addition to focusing on Macon, the studies offered comparative information on best practices for similarly sized governments inside and outside the state.

 

Vinson Institute specialists in the Office of Information Technology Outreach Services are committed to partnering with clients to gain a thorough understanding of how their organization works and how technology can help it work better. They know that creativity and innovation are critical in a public arena that demands more services with increasing levels of complexity.

In 2008, Institute specialists enhanced the usefulness of the Building, Land, and Lease Inventory of Property (BLLIP)—a nationally recognized Geographic Information Systems–based data management system they had previously created—with the addition of the official State Property Register. This list of all state-owned assets allows state risk managers to easily access their risk-management information in the BLLIP database. They can also better coordinate with facility managers and lease coordinators to determine the values of their owned assets, thereby contributing to a more accurate picture of the state’s capital assets overall.