Overcoming Ordinance Codification Obstacles: A Guide for Local Government Clerks
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As a clerk, you know better than anyone how vital it is to keep your community’s ordinances up-to-date and accurate. It’s no small task, and it comes with its fair share of challenges. Let’s take a closer look at some of the common obstacles you face in this important work and how recognizing these can lead to better solutions.
📜Keeping Up with Legislative Changes
Staying on top of legislative changes can feel like a never-ending race. New laws and amendments come thick and fast, and with limited resources, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Ensuring that every update is accurately reflected in your codified ordinances can stretch your time and energy to the limit.
☑️Ensuring Accuracy and Consistency
We all know that accuracy and consistency are key. But when you’re dealing with manual updates or working with codifiers who have rigid requirements, the risk of errors or inconsistencies increases. Some codification services may require you to submit ordinances with specific formatting or demand entire sections be resubmitted for minor amendments. This not only adds to your workload but also increases the chances of mistakes.
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📚Managing Large Volumes of Data
Ordinances, amendments, related documents—it all adds up quickly. Managing this sheer volume of data can be a real headache. Finding and organizing the information you need can take up a lot of your time, especially when you’re trying to ensure everything is up-to-date and easy to access.
🌐Accessibility and Public Engagement
Making sure your ordinances are accessible and understandable to the public is no small feat. Clear communication is crucial for public trust and compliance, but translating legal jargon into plain language can be challenging. Plus, in our digital age, ensuring these documents are accessible online and meet modern accessibility standards is a must. Unfortunately, some codification methods may result in infrequent updates to your online code, leaving your community with outdated information for extended periods.
🤝Interdepartmental Coordination
You often need to coordinate with other departments to ensure your ordinances are accurate and complete. This collaboration can come with its own set of challenges, from delays in getting information to inconsistencies in data. Streamlined processes are essential to keep things running smoothly and timely.
📋Staying Compliant with Regulatory Requirements
Ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations is non-negotiable, but it’s no easy task. You need to constantly monitor regulatory changes and update your ordinances accordingly, which adds another layer of complexity to your already busy workload.
💸Rising Costs and Diminishing Value
Many clerks find themselves facing increasing costs for codification services while simultaneously being required to do more of the work themselves. This can leave you questioning the value you’re receiving from your current codification method and wondering if there are better alternatives available.
⏱️The Need for Flexible, Real-Time Solutions
In today’s fast-paced environment, having the ability to update your code in real-time is increasingly important. Waiting for annual or semi-annual updates can lead to confusion and potential compliance issues.
Additionally, the ability to easily manage zoning updates, including complex tables and maps, and unique formatting is crucial for many municipalities.
✨The Wrap Up✨
The challenges you face in codifying ordinances are numerous and complex. From legislative changes to ensuring accuracy and accessibility, these tasks can be daunting. But recognizing these challenges is the first step toward finding effective solutions. Digital tools like enCodePlus can help you manage these tasks more efficiently, providing you with the support you need to keep your community’s ordinances in top shape.
If you’re struggling with the limitations of your current codification system and want to address these recurring issues, consider exploring modern digital solutions. enCodePlus offers a flexible approach that could be just what you need to manage your workload more effectively, ensure your ordinances are accurate, consistent, and accessible, and provide real-time updates to your community.
With enCodePlus, you can:
- Submit documents in any format, without strict formatting requirements
- Make real-time updates to your code
- Easily accommodate zoning updates, including tables, maps and unique formatting
- Streamline your workflow and reduce manual tasks
We understand that your time is valuable, and our goal is to make your job easier, not more complicated. Let’s explore how enCodePlus can streamline your work, help your community thrive, and provide the flexibility and value you deserve.
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to find out if enCodePlus is right for you!
About enCodePlus – Intelligent Planning, Zoning and Codification Software
enCodePlus is a unique, web-based technology platform delivering a full suite of planning, zoning and municipal code tools and features, together with full or hybrid code management services. Created by the planning experts at Kendig Keast Collaborative, the platform serves planners and zoning administrators, clerks, attorneys, managers, economic developers, and consultant partners. The cutting-edge software streamlines the rejuvenation of the format and usefulness of plans, studies, codes and ordinances, design guidelines, standards and specifications and the processes to create and publish them.