By Matthew Hisrich
Posted January 2004

Like stockholders in a corporation, taxpayers expect accountability and efficiency from the government agencies they support. Indeed, often it is simply assumed that officials are using scarce resources to their best ends. But is this always the case? As the state and local governments of Ohio struggle to make ends meet in a tight economy, every effort must be made to ensure that limited public dollars are employed in the most efficient manner possible. The good news is that technology has advanced to such a degree that it is allowing agencies to realize significant gains in the efficiency of their operations.

One example of this is online project management. County engineers, for example, must coordinate multiple road projects throughout their county. Often, these can involve managing county staff as well as multiple private firms contracted to perform a variety of services.

Oversight would normally involve a great deal of travel as well as organizing a large stream of information between many individuals. By placing these functions online, many of the inefficient aspects of such activities can be eliminated. Thus, what were once rather labor-intensive tasks can now be done from virtually anywhere with access to the internet. [1]

According to Mark Bostleman, president of online project management firm ProjectVillage, "Less than five years ago, the internet was used by local governments mainly to post basic information such as county phone numbers, department contacts, etc., and to keep up with others already hosting websites. Today far more sophisticated tools allow a variety of interactive functions and services to be offered via the internet - to do many tasks faster, more accurately, and at a lower cost." [2]

County Auditor offices provide another excellent example of this trend. Franklin County Auditor Joseph W. Testa's website, for instance, went online in 1998 with the goal of improving service and increasing information accessibility for county residents.

By placing real estate records on the internet, phone inquiries and subsequent charges for data collection have fallen by roughly a third. This has allowed the Auditor's office to reduce its phone staff, and the result is a savings of over $280,000 since 1999.

In addition to savings, the website improves citizen access to information. The real estate property maps and appraisal portions of the site, for instance, average over twenty users each minute. Property owners can easily review this posted information and report discrepancies - thereby improving accountability, as well. [3]

By following the lead of offices such as Testa's, many state and local agencies can potentially improve the efficiency, access and accountability of their operations. In fact, each of the major city auditors in Ohio has done just that. Thus, it need not be a given that government should grow over time.

This is an important development under any circumstances, but it becomes all the more important as job loss continues to impact the bottom lines of state and local governments. In fact, a recent study by Deloitte research has shown that improving the efficiency of government agencies through e-government, particularly in the area of regulatory compliance, sends a powerful signal to businesses looking to invest in a particular area. [4]

"E-government isn't typically the first thing that comes to politicians' minds when they're debating what government can do to enhance economic competitiveness. But that doesn't make it any less potent as a tool for doing so," says report author William D. Eggers. "By minimizing the amount of time and effort it takes to comply with government red tape and complete government transactions, e-government can positively impact both business productivity and people's quality of life." [5]

State and local officials that use technology to increase the efficiency of their offices should be recognized for their efforts and, to the extent possible, policymakers should encourage long-term strategic investments in technological infrastructure.

* Matthew Hisrich is a Policy Analyst with The Buckeye Institute.

[1] Mark Bostleman, "Local Governments Moving to Online Project Management," County News , Issue 1, 2003.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Information provided by the office of Franklin County Auditor Joseph W. Testa. To see the website, visit: http://www.franklincountyauditor.com.

[4] William D. Eggers, Citizen Advantage: Enhancing Economic Competitiveness Through E-Government , Deloitte Research Public Sector Study. Available at: http://www.dc.com.

[5] Ibid.