How clerks get it done: The City of Doral cuts prep time in half using modernized agenda management

OVERVIEW

Connie Diaz, the City Clerk for Doral, Florida, leads a small but mighty team that handles everything from meeting agendas and public records requests to elections, lobbyist registration, and more. Doral has proactively sought government technology solutions to better engage with residents, enhance transparency and user experience, and streamline internal processes across teams. Over the past decade, Doral has progressively enhanced its processes using Granicus’s Agenda Management (Agenda LE – Legistar) and Self-Managed Video (Live Cast) solutions. Now, with the adoption of Operations Cloud, the city is modernizing major responsibilities through the addition of the Records Request Management capability (GovQA).

SITUATION

Small team, mighty workload

The City of Doral, incorporated in 2003, is a relatively young municipality in Florida with a population nearing 90,000. Diaz leads a team of three — responsible for a wide range of duties including agenda management, public records, elections, and lobbyist registration.

Despite their size, the team handles an overwhelming volume of public records requests for both the city and the police department — averaging 400 per month. In the past, requests were managed through a Microsoft SharePoint™ system developed by the IT department that was heavily reliant on email. The system lacked the scalability needed to handle the growing volume; one request could easily require six or more emails back and forth between the requester, the clerk, and the division responsible. This process created inefficiencies, communication bottlenecks, and email storage issues.

The city had already seen the value and efficiencies that could be achieved through proper government technology. With Granicus’ Agenda Management capabilities, the team had turned processes that were time-consuming and difficult to manage into streamlined workflows that could be easily refined and scaled over time.

Doral was eager to implement forward-thinking solutions that would support its mission of serving residents with efficiency and transparency. The city’s leadership recognized the need for a robust system that could handle increasing administrative demands while improving accessibility and accountability.

SOLUTION

Ease of use for all

Doral’s Agenda Management solution, Agenda LE, streamlined internal workflows by reducing unnecessary approval steps and customizing agenda formats. Its ease of use on the back end and for public-facing access made it a natural fit for Doral’s needs. “It has been a great process and a great program,” said Diaz. “My staff loves it, and residents love how accessible it is — they can watch videos, follow along, click on the minutes … everything.”

Diaz uses the tool in collaboration with every department; agenda items are submitted and routed through key administrative departments — finance, legal, and the city manager’s office — for approval. This structured workflow ensures accountability and consistency across all agenda items.

“The internal people also love it,” said Diaz. “The tell me, ‘This is so great that we just go to a portal and do everything there and not have to worry about a million emails.’”

The City decided to bolster its commitment to modernization and address its increasing volume of public records requests by upgrading to Granicus’ Operations Cloud and adding the Records Request Management capability. Doral selected Granicus over other options due to the robust features available — including workflow automation, payment integration, and the user-friendly Granicus request portal that:

• Uses smart intake forms that change dynamically based on requester input.
• Guides requesters to provide all the information needed to process requests and reduce the need for back-and-forth clarification.
• Stores all request-related communications (including invoice and payment details) for easy, automated tracking by the requester and staff.

RESULTS

The full package

Agenda LE enabled Doral to maintain a small, efficient team while managing a growing workload. It has also significantly improved public accessibility to city records and legislative processes.

As a result, Doral has seen significant improvements in efficiency, transparency, and resource management in three key areas:

• Agenda LE has cut agenda preparation time in half, a critical benefit given their monthly agendas can exceed 6,000 pages.
• The transition to digital agendas through the Legislate app has eliminated the need for printing massive binders for each member of the council — approximately 30,000 pages a month — saving both time and money while promoting sustainability.
• Agenda LE’s integration of video, closed captioning, and legislative history has also enhanced accessibility for staff and the public.

The implementation of Operations Cloud Records Request Management is expected to further streamline operations by reducing record request email volume and enabling requesters to track submissions through a centralized portal. The city expects to reduce internal email volume and deliver records to requesters more efficiently.

As a recognized “super user” of Agenda LE, Diaz actively advocates for digital transformation among her peers. She often demonstrates the value of modern agenda solutions to other municipalities still relying on outdated methods, encouraging them to invest in tools that enhance transparency and efficiency.