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Local governments and utilities nationwide struggle to find the time and resources they need to make necessary strategic updates. After serving public sector clients for decades, it was clear that there was a need for a tool to help them approach their challenges more efficiently.
We created Ellio to do just that. Ellio is a cloud-based platform specifically designed to help utilities and local governments make data-driven decisions. Its three modules help public agencies achieve their goals by:
Here are a few ways a local government or utility might use Ellio to save time and make better decisions.
Historically, the City of Anytown, like many local governments, has struggled with implementing its strategic plans. Countless hours and resources are spent developing plans that align with its community’s values and needs, but when it starts to implement the strategies outlined in its plan, it doesn’t measure its success and execution, and the plan fails.
This time, to make sure its new plan doesn’t fall by the wayside, the City is using Ellio’s performance module to hold itself accountable. The City’s team uses it to organize its goals, the strategies and tactics to achieve them, and the roles and responsibilities associated with those tactics.
Using this information and the specific milestones attached to its goals, the City of Anytown is accountable as it works to serve its community better, and ultimately achieves the vision of its strategic plan.
After its success with its strategic plan, the City of Anytown is tackling new goals. A major concern is the significant investments its water system will soon need, but the City has not updated its water rates in five years. How will it fund these critical investments, especially given City Council’s concerns about maintaining affordable rates for their constituents?
Turning to Ellio’s finance module for support, the City created a financial plan forecasting future costs. Using the City’s data and integrated dashboards, Ellio displays how the City’s current rates impact its financial situation and how the rates must change to meet future needs.
The City uses Ellio’s dashboards to explore two different scenarios for rate increases—smaller, annual increases, or one major increase. Management considers these scenarios and its community’s values to inform its decision.
With affordability in mind, leadership decides that smaller annual rate increases make the most sense for the water utility and the community. This minimizes impacts on customers and ensures major infrastructure investments will be funded.
Now that the City’s leadership knows it’s comfortable with small increases, it’s time to address how those will stack up among the City’s peers.
Utility leadership recommends an 8% increase. This would account for salary adjustments, enhanced customer service, and funding for infrastructure repair and investment.
Members of City Council wonder if this would make rates too expensive compared to neighboring communities. To answer this question, utility leaders use Ellio’s analytics module. They compare the utility’s existing rates to its peers, then explore how the recommended increase would impact how the City compares.
Using this tool, Anytown’s utility leaders give elected officials the information they need to make an informed policy decision that balances the community and the utility’s needs.
If these scenarios sound like something you’ve experienced, consider using Ellio to inform your decisions. It will save you time on the process side and leave resources available for thoughtful deliberation.
If you’re interested in exploring how Ellio might be applied to your unique challenges, visit the Ellio website.
