Q&A with clerk shares all the details
By Barb Pert Templeton
It was time to bring the creation and management of meeting agendas in Marine City into the 21st Century plus save a few bucks on paper and ink.
At least that’s one way City Clerk Jason Bell described the decision to purchase a new software package that will streamline the process while also saving employees some time.
“Overall. this is a great product and I am excited to bring this into Marine City and getting to work on a project of this magnitude,” Bell said. “I’m very excited to use it.”
Blue Water Healthy Living posed a number of questions about the new software to Bell and these are his responses:
Blue Water Healthy Living: What brought about the need to get this new software package for the city?
Marine City Clerk Jason Bell: The brainstorming started when I was in the interim clerk role and took off once my contract was approved to become the full- time clerk. There was a need to update to this software and with technology advancing at a rapid rate I felt it was time to utilize that in any way we could. This software will also allow us to save on paper and ink as it is all digital and helps us reduce costs and our carbon footprint.
BWHL: How old is the system that’s being replaced?
Bell: The system currently used is all manual. Now, we receive agenda items and put them together into a PDF file by hand and organize them that way. It has been used as long as I have been with the city (10 years) and probably well before that. The current system is all scanned files as well.
Marine City Clerk Jason Bell at a recent city commission meeting.
BWHL: What is the new system – name, manufacturer?
Bell: The new system is Peak Agenda and Minutes by Granicus.
BWHL: Who was involved in selecting this new software package?
Bell: I researched multiple companies that offered this service and spoke with City Manager Scott Adkins at length about switching to this platform as well as the commission and it was very well received. The thought was to make staff work as efficiently as possible and this helps us get there. This will free up time for all city staff across all departments and help streamline the process for the commission and public as well.
BWHL: Can you share some examples of how it will make things more efficient?
Bell: This software allows users (department heads, city staff) to upload items to the agenda via the website while creating a memo template for easy to read and understand agenda items. Like now, we usually reach out to different departments asking if they have an item that needs to be placed on the agenda. This takes that away as they can now add their own and it goes through an internal approval process. Secondly, once all of the items and supporting documents are added to an agenda the software creates the entire agenda packet for viewing. Including: item numbers, bookmarks for easy to view items and all supporting documents. This takes the manual creation out of it now and relies on technology to build the agenda and agenda packet for us. This will free up time as I like to look at it as a “one stop shop”, upload and you’re done. This software will also allow myself, deputy clerk and others who take meeting minutes, to create meeting minutes post meetings far quicker than we do now.
BWHL: How about for the public who visit the city website?
Bell: For now. the website will look a little different than it currently does. Now you go to the city commission page and find the agendas, they’re all laid out for viewing. When this goes live (first meeting of March) when you go to the web page you will see a link that will take you to the Peak Agenda page which will include all of our agendas in an easy to view/search format.
BWHL: You’ve mentioned there will be some major changes with meeting packets for commissioners, can you explain that a bit more?
Bell: I wouldn’t say the changes will be major but things will look a little different. For one, the agenda will now include a cover page for an item. This is a memo template that fills in with all of the information the user puts in when creating an agenda item. This gives the commission and community more information on that particular item to help promote transparency and avoid any confusion on an item. One of the other changes they will see is that this will be an all-digital process now, we will no longer print 100-to-200-page agendas and they will be able to view them in real time on tablets (that purchase will go before the commission on February 1st). The overall look of the agendas will remain relatively the same with a few minor tweaks that would not be noticeable unless you were comparing each line of the agenda side by side.
BWHL: How much is this new system going to cost the city?
Bell: The software is part of a three-year contract and the first year is $3,696.00; second year is $3,954.72; third year is $4,231.55.
BWHL: Will those dollars come from the city’s general fund?
Bell: The dollars will come from the city’s general fund.
BWHL: As clerk, what aspect of the new system will be most helpful in doing your job?
Bell: The system as a whole will help in doing the clerk’s job. We are running a parallel for this meeting coming up on February 1st as well as a parallel for the February 15th meeting. This means I am using the software to create these two agendas to get more of a feel for the software and to work out any bugs before we go live. When using it to create the agenda for February 1st it cut the time to create and distribute by almost three times. That’s a savings for me as I can spend time on other functions and projects.
BWHL: Any additional things to share about this new software?
Bell: Another thing to add is this software allows citizens to subscribe to meeting agendas. This will be available when we go live in March and allows citizens to put in their email address and subscribe to what meeting body agendas they choose (just city commission for now, but we will eventually integrate all of our meeting bodies into Granicus). Once they subscribe and an agenda is posted, they will receive an email that the agenda is now available for viewing. I think this is great for those who want to be informed of happenings in the city, resident or not. It promotes more healthy government and that is what we are striving for in Marine City and we are all working diligently to get there; city staff, commission, boards and citizens.
