News & Insights

It has been an exciting time here at gtechna recently as we’ve been celebrating our 30th Anniversary. To add to that excitement, we are pleased to announce our newest Director of Customer Success, David Alvarez. David is no stranger to the brand, having worked for gtechna as a highly accomplished and revered Senior Project Manager for over eight years prior to this new role. We look forward to witnessing David transition his industry experience, institutional knowledge, and customer-centric focus to his new position seamlessly. In the meantime, and in the spirit of announcing our Director of Customer Success, here’s an exclusive look at David’s commitment to a top-notch customer experience.

Establishing Ticket by Mail in your municipality has a lot of advantages. On top of increasing compliance and boosting the efficiency of enforcement, it can also improve the convenience of payments and even help keep other municipal services running smoothly. But just because it has myriad benefits doesn’t mean getting it all in place is quick and easy. To move your initiative forward, you’ll not only need a few things in order but also the right laws on your side, which often means getting buy-in at the state level, and that alone can be a tricky task. So to help get you there, we’ve put together this blog post so you can better understand what obstacles stand in your way and how to best get around them. State and local laws Before you can implement anything at the municipal level, you first need to understand whether or not your Ticket by Mail initiative satisfies pre-existing state laws. The most important question you need to explore is whether or not there are legal requirements for providing service on a ticket. Some states may have no prior language or laws that govern how your municipality handles that process, while many others may be strict or specific in how that issuance needs to occur—such as having to physically issue a ticket and leave it on the vehicle. In the case of the former, you may face little pushback from the state level and be able to move your efforts forward with minimal resistance. However, those who are subject to specific state laws may have to go as far as getting those laws amended or outright abolished. If you’re one of the latter, you’ll first need to know whether your state operates on Home Rule or Dillon’s Rule, both of which determine how much legal autonomy your municipality has in terms of governance. Home Rule is generally far more forgiving, and often allows individual municipalities to establish laws how they see fit, while Dillon’s Rule often requires state approval for certain changes or initiatives. Many states operate with different rules at different levels, so it’s best to identify exactly which rule applies to your municipality type—then make plans to address your state representatives should any laws need to be changed. Data Needs In addition to having all the right laws in place, you’ll also need to make sure you have efficient access to DMV data—primarily mailing addresses—so you can quickly and easily mail out physical tickets to the proper recipients. If your parking enforcement agency is part of the police force, you should already have access to this data through the department. However, a vast majority of parking authorities are separate entities and need to secure that data through other means. It’s best to start by looking into what the legal requirements are for accessing that data, then getting in touch with the right people at the state level to get approval. Much like regulations for providing service on ticket issuance, accessing DMV data may also take getting state laws changed or amended. Positioning Your Ticket by Mail Initiative While many municipalities may be lucky enough to face only minor pushback in their efforts to establish a Ticket by Mail system, plenty of others will have to jump through a lot of hoops to get it to the finish line—especially if that means changing state laws. To ensure you have enough leverage when addressing state representatives, you’ll want to put together a list of questions you’ll likely be asked and have compelling answers at the ready to maximize your chances of getting buy-in. On top of gathering up case studies of other cities that have successfully implemented a Ticket by Mail system, it’s important to examine how your initiative will affect everyone involved, from constituents to parking enforcement personnel to state legislators. Try to consider it from their perspective so you can properly address any concerns they might have. Some examples of important questions to ask are: •How will this change make payments and appeals easier for constituents? •How will Ticket By Mail make parking enforcement jobs easier? •How will these changes affect representatives at the state level? There are plenty of ways to generate leverage for what you’re putting forth, so make sure you spend the time addressing these questions before you attempt to move anything forward or you’ll end up back at the drawing board before the picture is complete. Summary While we’ve covered many of the obstacles you’ll likely encounter, there’s a lot more to the process of getting your Ticket by Mail system approved. However, with a good forethought, preparation, and the right resources, you’ll be able to push your initiative through and set a new standard for your municipality’s parking enforcement. For a more in-depth look at how the technology you’re proposing creates a wider set of benefits, what laws you need to consider, and how to approach state representatives and create leverage, feel free to click the button below to check out our white paper.

So, you’re looking for a parking solution for your municipality. You’ve explored some possibilities and identified that it could really benefit from going digital—quick, secure communication systems complete with mobile eTicketing, virtual permits and processing, maybe even License Plate Recognition and digital chalking.  But standing in your way is one necessary but notoriously lengthy and laborious process: the Request for Proposal (RFP).  The case for alternative procurement If you’ve ever had to see an RFP through from start to finish, you know exactly how and why it can be a massive pain. From defining requirements and drafting the document to conducting evaluations, making a selection, and finalizing the contract, every step takes significant time and consideration.  At its core, the traditional RFP process poses three big drawbacks: It’s long and drawn-out. It commonly includes information unnecessary to finding resolution, which often means wasted time and money when compiling and drafting. It neglects to acknowledge overlap between similar entities with similar needs. Long story short, RFPs are far too bureaucratic for their own good. While they do a great job of establishing standardization for response, creating a clear outline of the objective and criteria, and providing equal opportunity for submission, they’re just too clunky to be efficient. More times than not, undertaking this process saddles the writer and/or project owner with a lot of hoops to jump through and a timeline that’s more of a hindrance than it is helpful.  While it may be standard practice and provide benefits in the long run, the RFP process can often distract from your core issue of finding a parking solution that will improve your city’s revenue, meet compliance, and make parking more efficient and convenient for both constituents and enforcement alike.  Fortunately, there’s a much better way to meet those needs that doesn’t involve having to go through all the laborious RFP procedures: NPPGov.  The NPPGov Solution: What it is and how it works NPPGov is a national cooperative procurement organization that offers publicly-solicited contracts to government entities in an effort to shortcut the often lengthy and convoluted RFP process.  With the help of a Lead Public Agency (LPA), NPPGov allows procurement teams to easily piggyback on previously established contracts—which means no drafting, issuing, creating criteria, evaluating, or handling the intricacies of the paperwork.  So how does it all work? Let’s take a look. Let’s stick to a realistic example you’re already likely facing: finding a comprehensive parking solution for your municipality. Previously, this would mean your procurement manager would have to follow the traditional RFP process: outline the city’s needs, create requirements for materials and service, develop a system of awards to qualify the most appropriate candidates, draft the document, go through the evaluation process, make a final selection, and complete the contract.  By contrast, NPPGov and their accompanying LPA can do all of this legwork for you. After signing up for a free NPPGov membership online, you’re able to explore all previously established contracts that have already been approved through the RFP process. This means the appropriate Lead Public Agency has already created a Request for Proposal for a comprehensive parking enforcement solution, created an award system, publicly solicited applicants, selected the most appropriate candidates, and created contracts for them.  Since several vendors are often selected, you’d simply need to explore contracts under the relevant category, seek out contracts most applicable to your municipality’s needs, review any necessary resources—such as a synopsis, the RFP itself, any reference letters from other municipalities, or the vendor’s website—and make a selection.  Then, once you sign an intergovernmental agreement with the LPA, you’re able to piggyback on the most appropriate contract, getting you from defining your need to signing a final contract and maximizing your time and effort in finding a solution, all in far less time. hbspt.cta.load(154767, '9f07c99a-0cc2-4939-9310-5aff74c8791c', {});

How can smart parking support the smart city? What is your top prediction for the future of parking? We asked these and other questions to some of the leaders in parking tech at PIE 2018 in Rosemont, IL.