MMA Annual Meeting Goes Virtual, Highlights The Importance Of Modern Government Processes The Massachusetts Municipal Association, an organization that works to improve the effectiveness of local governments in the Commonwealth, recently announced they were canceling their in-person Annual Meeting & Trade Show January 21-22 in favor of virtual events. After a virtual event in 2021, the MMA was excited to welcome leaders in-person this year, but with the Omircon surge the organization had to quickly pivot once again. Fortunately, with all the lessons learned over the past two years, the MMA staff was able to seamlessly move the MMA Annual Business Meeting to a Zoom call and open it to even more attendees. Additionally, the workshops and speakers originally scheduled for the event were converted into online webinars starting January 24th. Attendees could choose which workshops to attend in-person or catch them on-demand at their convenience — all free of charge. What This Means For Local Governments Remote work and new forms of digital communication have become our new normal. Local governments that have used this time to embrace new technology and modernize their processes are saving time and money while enjoying improved efficiencies. They’re able to collaborate with colleagues from anywhere, and they’re able to meet their citizens where they are: at home, on their laptop or smartphone. While the pandemic may have forced some governments out of their comfort zone, the consensus is that we need to do things differently today – with modern, digital, and virtual processes in place – in order to best serve our communities. ClearGov’s On-Demand Webinar Ensures MA Government Officials Don’t Miss Out On Important Session ClearGov was scheduled to be an exhibitor at the MMA trade show and host a Learning Lab for attendees. The Learning Lab would have covered important GFOA Award Criteria Changes that governments need to be aware of before submitting their budget for award consideration. Even though the MMA event was canceled, ClearGov wanted to make sure government officials didn’t miss out on the important session, so they turned the information into an on-demand webinar. What’s In The Webinar? It has been nearly 10 years since the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award Program criteria was last revisited and revised. The GFOA recognizes, and encourages, that many governments are moving away from the traditional budget document into other forms of budget communication, like interactive web-based presentations. They also recognize governments’ commitment to greater transparency and accountability within their communities. To improve and adjust to these changes, the award criteria is evolving with it. The revised criteria take effect for budgets with a fiscal year beginning January 1, 2021 or later, and for schools with a fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021 or later. The webinar, hosted by ClearGov Senior Account Executive, Lewie Alfano, covers the following topics: The Evolution of Budget Books – From print, to PDF, to website-based and the clear advantages of modern digital budget books. Modernizing Government Processes – Meeting stakeholders where they are – online and on mobile – and how digital budget books provide a more engaging experience while reducing print waste. Award Criteria Changes – Overview of changes, whether they’re mandatory or not, best practices for meeting them, and visual examples from ClearGov customers’ digital budget book.
The ClearGov Approach to Budget Books – Save hundreds of hours creating your budget book with ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book solution that has GFOA award criteria and checklist automatically built-in to the DNA. Guest Speaker – Ron Hogan, Chief Strategy Officer for the city of Malden, Massachusetts also joins the webinar to talk about how they use ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book solution. 
In addition to the webinar, you can also download our in-depth ebook covering the GFOA changes: Changes To Criteria For The Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program Modernize Your Budgeting Process With ClearGov ClearGov Digital Budget Book is the industry’s first website-based solution that automates most of the budget book creation process using templates and data-driven charts and tables. It’s easy to create, highly customizable, and delivers your budget book as an easy-to-navigate website that engages your residents with interactive content. Need a printed copy? Your budget book can be printed with just one click. Digital Budget Book automates the process in three easy steps:
Schedule a demo today to see how ClearGov helps you embrace more modern government processes. More from resourcesView All Resources
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