City of Mesa
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Smart government requires transparency, accountability and a dynamic anticipation of the changing needs of the citizens, especially in light of advanced technology. Additionally, there’s an opportunity for citizen engagement to allow increased interaction between government officials and citizens.
Automated Vehicle Location (AVL)
Project AVL is a complete vehicle tracking solution providing departments with a host of detailed information about vehicle activity. The application provides visibility, history, and reporting needs with accurate real time data. AVL provides enhanced functionality including the ability to perform turn-by-turn routing, enter Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), pre and post-vehicle inspections information, and integration with Transportation’s work order management.
Benefit to the City Automated Vehicle Location solutions are used by City departments to track City vehicles using a GPS system and managing City vehicles’ location, speed, idle time, and other data. AVL is used to enhance routing and gain fuel savings and other efficiencies.
Status The City’s launched a new tool for automated vehicle location known as LiGO AVL in
March 2019. The City is currently exploring further optimizing AVL use to enhance routing and gain fuel savings and other efficiencies.
Chatbot
Project The project implements an automated ChatBot with artificial intelligence (AI) for the Business Services - Customer Service and Development Services - Customer Service staff. Future phases will be implemented in additional City departments. The ultimate goal will be to have a City-wide enterprise Chatbot framework available to any department that may need this functionality."
Benefit to the City The implementation of an automated ChatBot with artificial intelligence (AI) will alleviate staff providing information available elsewhere and often repeating the same information to multiple consumers. An automated chat system will handle many of the standard, straight-forward information requests and will interface to other City applications, potentially automating even mid-level requests such as account balances, application status, etc. Only the most complicated requests would require human interaction. With AI functionality, the system will steadily build a knowledgebase and can take on more of the requests as the information store grows. This will reduce the number of phone calls and/or time on the phone for City staff as well as in-person counter customer service. Residents will be provided information in a timelier fashion while still having access to human interaction at any time if needed.
Status Chatbot was launched in October 2020. The pilot is currently offered on two pages of the Mesa site. In less than 3 months, over 3,000 questions were answered. The City will be expanding the pilot this year.
Smart Data
Open Data is digital data that is made available for it to be freely used, reused, and redistributed by anyone, anytime and anywhere. The City of Mesa upgraded and expanded the City data available on our Open Data Portal, including Open Budget, Open Expenditures, City Council Strategic Priorities, Performance Dashboard, Capital Projects Explorer, and featured stories/highlights on key services.
Benefit to the City Datasets are made freely available for anyone under the City’s Terms of Use. This license allows worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use the City’s open datasets, for both commercial and non-commercial use. Data that contains personal identifying information, or information that may pose as a security or confidentiality concern, will not be released as open data.
As part of Mesa’s Smart City initiative, we continue developing our data practices and better support efforts to be data informed. We recently launched the city data portal giving employees access to more data than ever before! Currently over 1,300 city data assets, such as datasets, performance measures, charts/graphs/maps, and performance stories inform managers about daily operations. The City of Mesa strives to be a data-informed city government, and leaders and staff at all levels are committed to using data to make decisions. Through this expanded effort we’ve also made more datasets available on the city’s public data portal. Nearly 30 department performance measures, aligned with Council Strategic Priorities are now available to the public on our open data portal at http://data.mesaaz.gov with more expected in the coming months.
The City of Mesa was recognized this year for achieving 2020 What Works Cities Certification, for our investment in data and transparency and for putting data and evidence at the center of our decision-making. Mesa earned the 2020 What Works Cities Silver Level Certification, one of only 16 cities in the United States to earn silver status. What Works Cities Certification evaluates how effectively cities are managed by measuring the extent to which city leaders incorporate data and evidence in their decision-making against a national standard of excellence.