Implement online customer service and inquiry portal by 2022

In February 2023, the City launched a new utility billing, meter data management, and payment system called UMAX to service over 126,000 homes and businesses. Prior to UMAX, the Customer Information System had not been upgraded in over 10 years.  

As part of this upgrading process, the City visited multiple municipalities that had successfully implemented new citizen engagement systems. These visits provided insight into the vendor selection process, project management methodologies, business process improvement approaches, and organizational change management. 

The City also carried out several pre-planning tasks. In March 2021, the City held its first-ever Technology Strategic Planning Summit, which pulled together all internal stakeholders of customer-facing technology projects within the City. The session helped set expectations for communication and involvement of stakeholders for this and other projects. The project team then met with business units across 12 divisions and mapped over 270 existing business processes. 

UMAX’s successful deployment has increased citizen engagement, provided enhanced data analyses, and automated existing processes, better positioning the City to meet the ever-evolving needs of Tallahassee’s citizens through faster, more efficient, and convenient service delivery. As of October 2024, 83,573 customers have enrolled in the portal, reflecting strong community engagement with the updated system.