City of Fairfield, California, Keeps Key Decision-Makers Informed with ArcGIS

The City of Fairfield, California, is a vibrant environment in Solano County that is home to a diverse community and rich history. The Information Technology Department, in collaboration with the Public Works and Finance Departments, has leveraged the capabilities of geographic information system (GIS) technology to create a data dashboard. This dashboard enhances transparency, provides a holistic visual overview of key project metrics, and facilitates effective communication and decision-making throughout the city. 

In the past, staff from the Finance Department had to gather data from the Public Works Department to produce the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) section of the budget book, while public works employees created their own separate CIP report. Despite containing the same information, these reports were presented in an unstandardized format. Consequently, the reports were manually compiled into static maps, spreadsheets, and PDF documents for the city’s website, resulting in inefficiencies and inconsistencies.

To digitize the report, city staff employed the help of Geographic Technologies Group (GTG), an Esri partner, to develop an integration with its EasyCIP database application, built on the Knack platform. This integration utilized ArcGIS API for Python and ArcGIS Notebooks to automate the extract, transform, and load (ETL) process.

The new report system features a single point of data entry into the online database, from which standardized reports are automatically generated. This data is then seamlessly ingested and displayed in ArcGIS Online, offering a unified access point via ArcGIS Dashboards and the city’s Capital Improvement Program Performance Hub site (CIP Hub), created with ArcGIS Hub.

“The system’s user-friendly interface and efficiency makes it easy for CIP report creators to meet their deadlines and streamlines the entirety of the reporting process,” said Jasmin Acuna, senior GIS analyst at the City of Fairfield. 

By customizing an ArcGIS Solutions template, the city’s GIS team was able to rapidly launch a public dashboard for the community. This was a significant milestone for the team, as the city recently conducted a community survey and a GIS survey, both of which exposed the ever-growing need for transparency. The survey results requested updates on the city council’s goals and capital improvement projects, which can be viewed online.

Government transparency refers to the openness and accessibility of government actions, decisions, and data to the public. This new way of sharing information aligns with the Fairfield City Council’s goals of fostering government transparency. It demonstrates the city’s openness and accessibility to government actions, decisions, and data to the public.

Along with presenting projects in the CIP Hub, budgets and project status can be readily displayed through interactive charts and pop-ups. Additionally, the city council and staff can direct the community to the CIP Hub so they can review information at their convenience.

“The response from the community is overwhelmingly positive, and sparks genuine conversations about the projects and spending,” said Acuna.

The implementation of this system was a multidepartmental effort for reporting active capital improvement projects around the city. It enhanced internal staff processes by increasing communication and time savings, eliminating redundancies, and promoting public engagement.

“Before, we had to chase project teams for information,” said Acuna. “Now, the project owners are familiar with the location of the projects, and if there is a technological issue preventing their project from showing up in the interface, they let us know.”

Project managers are proving their accountability by showing their CIP projects and impacts. Productivity has increased since fewer staff members are involved in producing the report, and report production and delivery have become more automated. The city estimates a resulting staff time savings of 8 hours per department in over 10 departments, for a total savings of 80 hours.