Indiana Gateway for Government Units

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1 2013 NASCIO STATE IT RECOGNITION AWARDS NOMINATION for Cross-Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships Indiana Gateway for Government Units Indiana Department of Local Government Finance Initiated July 2011 Completed November 2012 Contact: Eric Bussis, Director of Data Analysis and CFO Phone:

2 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Local Government Finance ( DLGF ) and the State Board of Accounts ( SBOA ), in partnership with the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University, have developed the ( Gateway ) allowing local units of government to submit required data online. Local officials have the ability to submit budget forms and debt reports to the DLGF and annual financial reports ( AFR ) and employee compensation reports ( 100R ) to SBOA. Submitted information is immediately available for review by state agencies and is accessible online by the public shortly thereafter. This allows for data collection in one central location to collect and maintain this information in a searchable and easily accessible format providing transparency of local government spending. The Gateway budget forms were the first module of the application and were made available in July By November, all units of local government, except schools, filed their budgets with the DLGF. In the late 2012, two additional applications were released, the DLGF s Debt Management application and the SBOA s AFR. In 2012, the second year of the budget forms submission via Gateway, schools were included. Because of the successes in reporting, the Indiana General Assembly has added numerous requirements to Gateway reporting since the launch. In the 2012 legislative session, two new reporting functions were added to Gateway as new modules: Redevelopment Commission Reporting and Solid Waste District Reporting. These reports were added as new applications in the fall of

3 3. BUSINESS PROBLEM AND SOLUTION DESCRIPTION NASCIO 2013 State IT Awards PROBLEM: Modernize collection of financial data from local government units and increase transparency for taxpayers. In Indiana, local units of government were required to submit budget forms, debt reports, annual financial reports and employee compensation reports via mail, fax and , a process that limited efficiency, quality and overall productivity. The Indiana General Assembly established a requirement that all budget forms for local units of government must submit their budget forms electronically increasing transparency for taxpayers. The solution needed to allow consistency among all units as well as immediate access for the DLGF and SBOA, in addition to legislators, researchers, and the public. Gateway grew from the Information for Indiana initiative, a collaboration of the State of Indiana and Indiana University which began in 2006 to make state-collected information available to Indiana citizens. The idea that grew out of mutual frustration among the three partners (DLGF, SBOA and IBRC) that the local information that was collected wasn't in a form that was particularly useful to people wanting to do research or comparisons. SOLUTION: To develop a modern data warehouse Gateway extends the Information for Indiana initiative to local governments statewide. Gateway collects financial information from local officials directly through the web and in turn makes those data public as soon as possible after the collection phase has been completed. One goal of Gateway was to provide on online budget submission program that stores data electronically in one central modern data warehouse. Reports and forms to be included are: Budget forms Annual financial reports Debt reports Another goal of Gateway was to provide accessible and understandable reports that will allow public users of the site to drill down into data and see information in one location. It was important to include: COST Searchable data Cross agency comparisons Custom reports Statewide comparison reports Enhanced analysis The program was funded through joint contributions between DLGF, SBOA, the State Budget Agency, and the Indiana Business Research Center. Because of the complex 3

4 nature of the project, and personnel contributions coming from multiple agencies, a total cost is hard to quantify, but could be estimated at $500,000. The time savings are beginning to pay off for the state. Staff members no longer need to enter data or manage documents from each unit of government. Additionally, all 2,600 local units of government have saved money from avoiding purchasing, printing, and shipping costs. FEATURES A number of features were created to assist both the local units of government along with taxpayers. Features included: Information Resource Provides access to various reports such as a governmental unit s budget, debt, expenditures, and salaries. Public Employee Salary Search Functionality Provides the ability to look up the compensation of public employees in Indiana. Form Submission Functionality Users have the ability to input data on forms eliminating errors, reducing time, and costs. Upload Functionality The largest modules of Gateway accept uploads from units accounting and financial services vendors. Organization Eliminates the need for 92 county auditors to collect, manage, and store over 2,400 units budgets each comprised of a stack of printed pages. Edit Functionality Local officials returning to a report generally only need to enter the amounts as opposed to reconstructing the reports each year. Data Download Functionality Provides a mechanism that allows taxpayers, researchers, and members of the media to select larger quantities of data without going through the report building process. Report Management Provides a mechanism that allows taxpayers, researchers, and members of the media to select individual counties and government units to instantaneously review various financial reports, rather than having to wait for public information requests to be processed. Time Management DLGF and SBOA field staff no longer need to manually reenter reports into a program, which reduces the opportunity for keying errors and aids quicker review. User Support Real time support from state agencies to local officials with completing their reports. Local Cost Savings Local officials witness reduced costs in printing and transportation of submitted forms. Increased Accessibility Notice to Taxpayers submitted through Gateway are posted online where taxpayers can search for local budget meetings that they can attend. OUTREACH The DLGF focused heavily on educating local government units prior to the launch of the Gateway website. Efforts included: 4

5 Presentations to several associations for local government units, along with providing electronic copies of the presentations on the DLGF website. Weekly s from the DLGF are sent to all local government units providing updates on deadlines, launches, and changes to the Gateway system. A portion of the DLGF website is dedicated to Gateway for local government units with specific pages for general information, vendor information, the budget application, debt management application, and other applications. Continuous phone and support is available with extended hours leading up to required submission deadlines. TRAINING A total of 750 individuals representing 2,600 local government units attended 30 elective training sessions held throughout the state. Highlights include: A select group of future users were invited to test the program in September After a successful testing, Gateway was officially launched to all government units, except schools in July In 2011, a large number of group trainings for local units and presentations for various associations were held. The DLGF also secured volunteer trainers and held train the trainer sessions. In 2012, 30 training sessions and 92 budget workshops were held around the state to ensure local government units were provided with expert training. Approximately 80% of officials attend training on the budget module and have certain forms uploaded for them, thus dramatically reducing the amount of data entry and increasing ease of use. 5

6 4. SIGNIFICANCE The Gateway project began as a way to increase transparency for taxpayers regarding local government spending. Key areas of significance to government were: Modernization of the collection of budget reports from local government units that are presented in a user-friendly format. Building partnerships to educate 2,600 local government units on the importance of accurate data. The ability of taxpayers to hold local government accountable for local spending. Cost-savings from government efficiency in reduced printing, mailing, staff time and storage costs. Data that assists governments to further develop best practices. The objectives of Gateway align with previous Governor Mitch Daniels and Governor Mike Pence in enhancing the transparency to taxpayers. Both have been involved with the implementation and continue to support the expansion of the project. 6

7 5. BENEFIT OF THE PROJECT The size, scope, and collaboration of Gateway are the most innovative parts of the project. Drawing on resources across state government and with the partners at Indiana University, the project has been able to be completed in a unique and cost effective manner. After observing the local government units prepare and submit documents to the appropriate agency, it was determined that a solution for a standardized electronic collection and database was needed. Additionally, partnerships with other organizations across the state provided trainers to assist local units with the data entry and upload process. The Gateway public site was created with the end user in mind. Taxpayers have access to user-friendly reports, statewide comparisons, and online searchable data. Taxpayers have innovative research tools at their disposal to truly understand the services their local governments provide and the cost of providing them. In the first year of using the budget form module, more than 41,000 budget forms were submitted. The units gave overwhelmingly positive feedback. In the second year of use, with schools included in reporting, the budget forms submitted grew to 58,500. While previously these forms were printed, transported, and stored at both the local and state level, Gateway allowed for instantaneous transmission and represented a major step forward for streamlining local government administration. Similar efficiencies have been gained in the administration of debt reporting, AFR, and 100R. Officials now receive more effective real time assistance. Staff is able to view the data entry of any unit at any time. Previously, this was not possible without in-person meetings, thus reducing the number of errors. Additionally, the move to an electronic database has allowed for increased efficiency. Gateway Debt Management has streamlined the way units report debt to the DLGF. Three separate debt-reporting requirements are now satisfied by reporting debt information once in Debt Management. Gateway has increased compliance with state reporting requirements, specifically with the debt reporting module. The DLGF saw a compliance rate of 51% in 2011 when the DLGF required paper reporting prior to Gateway. Compliance has increased dramatically following the implementation of Gateway reporting. Over 93% of units filed a debt report in 2012 and compliance reached a rate of 97% in The budget application has 100% adoption, as it is mandatory for all local units of government. The application is used by over 2,600 units of local government. The public output application has seen 2.6 million site visitors over the past 18 months. This represents 44,000 unique visitors and 234,000 visits. 7

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