Cumbersome Process Creates Silos
Before Legistar, the agenda management team at AC Transit had a labor-intensive manual process for preparing, printing, reviewing, approving, and publishing their agendas and supporting documents. Draft reports were shepherded manually up and down each of ten floors in the Oakland headquarters and then left on desks for review and approval. Agendas, drafted 60 days in advance, were constantly revised up until the time they were published.
“Managing the agenda process was a full-time job. It was especially difficult and time consuming to track and compile different versions of documents in order to consistently produce a quality work-product for our board of directors and the public,” said AC Transit District Secretary Linda Nemeroff
So, with support from the general manager and CIO, along with new state requirements, they engaged the Granicus team for a digital agenda management solution. They were already using Granicus to stream audio of their meetings and wanted a solution that was solid, reliable, and mobile.
Digital Solution Boosts Productivity & Collaboration
With Legistar, the team at AC Transit has automated the entire agenda management process and customized it to fit their needs. No more walking up and down office floors to understand status. Now, they can log in from their desktop computers and see the big picture.
The simplicity is speeding up the review process and making it more participatory. “Legistar has made the entire process more transparent to our internal stakeholders across the District,” said Nemeroff. “Staff have accepted the challenge to collaborate and it shows in Legistar. The review process has become more engaging and collaborative, but it’s not taking as long.”
Additionally, Legistar has improved the work environment in the district secretary’s office because the team can deliver their work from anywhere. The team recently published an agenda in a matter of minutes while on a break at an offsite training – an impossible feat with a manual process. “The day the agenda is published went from being our worst day to our best day, literally overnight,” said Assistant District Secretary Jelena Harada.
Time to Focus on Priorities
Developing the agenda used to take up a majority of the focus in the district secretary’s office. Now they can move from a draft to an approved agenda very quickly. The team can focus on other matters, and soon will take on the completion of a formal records management policy for the entire district.
AC Transit is using Legistar in concert with other Granicus solutions, the govDelivery Communications Cloud for email and Granicus Video to audio stream public meetings live. With all three, they’re able to save time and increase engagement. They can publish agendas, record meetings, and send notifications to interested citizens and stakeholders.
