Local government: It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it… with the right tech, of course

Many of us fondly remember the hit sitcom Parks and Recreation, especially the adorable character Leslie Knope, played by the hilarious Amy Poehler, who stopped at nothing to beautify the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. While Leslie persevered and advanced in her career, one key takeaway from the show remains true today: serving in local government is an essential, often thankless job.

Municipalities work hard to provide residents with information about events, community programs, and safety updates. Local citizens may not always see all the work going on behind the scenes, but it is considerable and often time-sensitive. With so many responsibilities, updating technology can sometimes fall to the bottom of the priority list, despite its critical role. Printing remains essential, as local governments frequently produce public documents such as booklets and brochures, sometimes in multiple languages, and often on tight budgets. City workers simply cannot afford printer malfunctions or delays.

Here are a couple of examples of how local government agencies have addressed printing and technology challenges to better serve their constituents.

Saving time and money in Topeka, Kansas

One example of a city department that needed a print technology upgrade was the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce. Curtis Sneden, interim president and CEO of the Chamber, emphasized the importance of having the right technology to support his members and serve the community effectively.

Chamber staff faced several challenges with their existing setup. Their five-year-old equipment could not handle all printing needs, particularly projects requiring cardstock or full-bleed color. On top of that, a new branding initiative and style guide required full-bleed color printing, which their current printers could not achieve.

To address these needs, the Chamber partnered with a Sharp dealer to install a Sharp MX-7500N digital multifunction printer with Fiery® Command WorkStation on the printer’s operating panel. This setup allows staff to customize print jobs directly at the printer, without having to run back to the computer, saving valuable time. With full-bleed printing handled in-house and faster production times, the MFP helped the Chamber cut costs while maintaining greater control over the quality of its printed materials.

Bringing state-of-the-art tech to Anderson, South Carolina

The South is booming with business and people moving in from around the country, and the city of Anderson, South Carolina, is no exception. Exponential growth means the city needs to ensure its tech is up to date to stay on par with, or ahead of, other fast-growing business regions. Printing was certainly one issue in Anderson’s government agencies, with MFP devices that were unable to perform simple tasks and would break down when scanning or printing. They also needed a digital document management solution and disaster recovery system to back up the myriad hard copies of essential public works documents, such as engineering plans, stored in filing cabinets. Another major challenge was that the City Council Chamber’s audio/visual studio was still running on analog, resulting in unclear images when broadcasting council proceedings to the public.

The solution was a massive undertaking that involved installing 23 Sharp MFPs and 15 laser printers across the fire department, lawyers’ office, courthouse, mailroom, and several other locations. The city of Anderson also worked with Sharp to install and implement a document management system with a wide-format scanner to digitize large engineering documents, along with backup and disaster recovery services in the event of a fire, flood, or other emergencies. Finally, they solved the analog council chamber problem with an 80” Class (80” diagonal) PN-L703B AQUOS BOARD interactive display system with CAD drawing and overlay mode capabilities. All of the analog cameras, microphones, and monitors were replaced with digital alternatives, making it much easier to publicly broadcast city council meetings.

There are few jobs as rewarding as public service, and we hope that our government employees always have the right technology tools at their disposal to do their jobs effectively with one less thing to worry about. With that, we’ll leave you with a memorable quote from Leslie Knope about the work of public service for the greater good: 

“When we worked here together, we fought, scratched, and clawed to make people’s lives a tiny bit better. That’s what public service is about: small, incremental change every day.”

For more information about Sharp's government technology solutions and how they can support your agency's needs, contact a Sharp representative today.