Licences, Rates, Das Can Go Online: Study
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday October 3, 2000
As consumers increasingly expect to be able to pay bills, make purchases, do banking transactions and obtain advice by phone or the Internet at times that suit them councils are moving towards providing information and services online.
Some councils are taking on this challenge with alacrity, while others are wary or perhaps unaware of the potential benefits the Internet offers, in consumer service and cost savings.
In some regional areas, lack of telecommunications infrastructure, and high call rates for Internet use, can be an impediment. But in remote areas the use of the Internet to provide information and carry out council functions could provide even bigger benefits than in metropolitan areas.
Apart from consumers being able to obtain information about council regulations and facilities, there is also the potential for them to pay their rates and dog registration fees online, book community amenities such as swimming pools, and lodge and even track the progress of development applications.
In some cases, Internet services can give applicants immediate information about whether certain aspects of their development application are acceptable.
It would also be possible for ratepayers to report damage to, say, a park swing, and for this information to be translated into a work direction for council staff.
Online access offers the opportunity for councils to provide so-called 24 X 7 service (24 hours a day, seven days a week), which is becoming a new buzz word in business practice.
A draft report the Local Government and Shires Association commissioned on the scope for council use of the Internet has found that some of the key issues facing local government in the adoption of online services are lack of awareness among councillors, council staff, the community and businesses. There are also financial and staff limitations for councils.
The LGSA received $25,000 in funding from the Federal Government's Networking the Nation program to commission the research, which was prepared by Electronic Trading Concepts.
The LGSA also received $585,000 to develop Internet tools for councils. One of these could be the development of a single process for a particular application, such as paying rates or registering a dog, which all councils could use.
Each council would be able to use its data and integrate the online process into its operations. This would give consistency across councils and the potential to achieve better economies of scale.
The draft report identifies priorities and objectives and sets out a strategic plan for the LGSA to assist councils in introducing or extending online services.
The researchers carried out extensive consultation with representatives of metropolitan, rural and regional districts, Federal and State government departments, and the LGSA's online services reference group.
An interesting aspect of the consultations was that introducing or extending online services was not seen as a way of cutting council staff numbers.
Rather it would make some processes more efficient, thereby freeing up staff to do other things that are not done at the moment. The purpose would be to make more out of existing resources, rather than reducing them.
A priority of the research was to establish what can be done online to benefit the council and consumer, and what is being done now. Another was the development of a plan for the LGSA to maximise the help it can give councils to develop online services. An important aspect of this will be ensuring that councils have the skills needed to develop and maintain online services.
One area of significant potential for councils, and for the LGSA to facilitate, is to group together to increase their purchasing power. However, some councils particularly small ones often prefer to support local businesses.
The report concludes that some options for ``e-procurement" include development of a specific local government electronic market and e-procurement service; utilisation of the NSW Government's electronic purchasing initiative, ``buy.gov", which is to be launched towards the end of this year; and organising processes to take advantage of existing or emerging market-places or services.
The researchers see the role of the LGSA in e-procurement as:
* Helping to standardise council purchasing procedures, product and service information, and supplier descriptions and codes.
* Ensuring councils' requirements are reflected in agreements with e-procurement providers.
* Accrediting suppliers.
* Negotiating with suppliers for bulk purchases and major contracts.
A significant finding was the need for councils to work together in developing online services. Some of the potential areas for collaboration were seen as:
* Maximising the use of limited funds and resources.
* Using the infrastructure of bigger councils or centralised services to support those having difficulty meeting their own requirements.
* Creating a competitive market for providing online services.
* Determining standards and agreeing to a minimum Web presence.
The report recommends the creation of an online repository of policy and operations information that is common to all councils. An intranet could be a way to do this.
lapismedia@bigpond.com
© 2000 Sydney Morning Herald