As one of Colorado’s largest cities, Lakewood seamlessly blends urban convenience with the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. With over 150,000 residents and more than 100 parks and open spaces, the city offers a vibrant community that values efficiency and innovation. However, as Lakewood grew, so did the challenges of managing resident concerns. To modernize its approach, the city implemented GOGov’s Citizen Requests Management/311 platform, streamlining communication, improving response times, and enhancing engagement. Since its adoption, Lakewood has handled over 10,000 requests annually, addressing everything from infrastructure issues to homeless camp reporting—all while empowering staff and elected officials with real-time insights. Discover how Lakewood is transforming citizen engagement with GOGov.

About Lakewood, CO

Lakewood, CO, is a vibrant city of over 150,000 residents, situated between Denver and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Just about 15 minutes from Denver, Lakewood is the fifth largest city in Colorado. Home to high level research universities, the Denver Federal Center, and several major hospitals and research centers, Lakewood offers a blend of urban convenience and natural beauty. With over 100 parks and open spaces, residents and visitors alike enjoy popular outdoor destinations such as Bear Creek Lake Park and William F. Hayden Park at Green Mountain. It is the perfect location for a balance between the city and nature.

The Challenge

Lakewood's City Manager’s Office previously managed resident complaints through a system that was cumbersome and time-consuming for staff. When GOGov's Citizen Requests Management/311 platform was introduced in 2014, it offered a more efficient and organized way to handle resident requests. The improved system provided an opportunity to streamline processes, improving both staff efficiency and citizen engagement.

“As Lakewood grew into one of the largest cities in the state, and the resident's needs became more and more sophisticated and people became more and more used to being able to get what they needed instantly via online solution, city leadership decided that we would go forward with an online customer relationship management software solution, and selected GOGov.” - Dan Stoutamire, Public Information Officer for Citizen Engagement

How Lakewood is Using GOGov

Lakewood currently uses GOGov’s Citizen Requests Management/311 platform, which has proven to be a flexible and powerful tool. Key highlights include:

• Request Submission:
  • Residents can submit requests via Lakewood’s website or through their mobile app, "Request Lakewood,” which is available on the Apple App Store & Google Play Store.
  • The city handles over 10,000 requests annually across various departments.
• Request Categories:
  • New reporting categories include sensitive topics like homeless camp reporting.
  • Request types range from potholes and sidewalk shoveling to park-related questions.
• Staff Usage:
  • Over 100 city staff members are registered users, managing the large volume of resident requests.
• Support for Elected Officials:
  • The CRM platform supports a direct response program that helps elected representatives collaborate with staff to provide residents with accurate and timely answers.
  • This system ensures inquiries are tracked and managed efficiently.
• User-Friendly Interface:
  • The platform’s intuitive design simplifies training for new staff, ensuring continuity despite staff turnover.

Customization Benefits

Dan shared his positive experience with GOGov's customization features:

• Easy customization for:
  • Adding or removing topics.
  • Managing user accounts.
  • Making changes quickly and intuitively.

"One of the things I like about it is its flexibility and robustness. Like I said, it's easy to add topics, remove topics, add or remove users, change users. It takes a matter of seconds to do all that stuff, and it's intuitive for me or anybody else who might need to do that." - Dan Stoutamire, Public Information Officer for Citizen Engagement

Real-World Impact of GOGov Solutions

Lakewood has experienced several significant improvements since adopting GOGov:

• Illegal Encampment Reporting:
  • Since early 2020, this has become one of the city's most frequently reported concerns.
  • GOGov’s system enables faster response times from both police agents and mental health co-responders, ensuring individuals in need receive assistance quickly.
  • Pinpointing precise locations when submitting requests has improved response efficiency.
• Abandoned Shopping Carts:
  • GOGov has automated Lakewood’s partnership with local retailers.
  • Reported carts are collected promptly without additional costs to the city or businesses.
  • This solution has improved community aesthetics and accessibility for residents with mobility challenges.

Measuring Success

Lakewood actively tracks metrics such as the number of requests that are opened and closed each month, along with the top five most-requested topics. These insights are regularly shared with elected officials, ensuring transparency and accountability. Additionally, the city produces weekly reports for leadership and elected officials summarizing Council-initiated questions. GOGov’s reporting capabilities have made this process seamless and efficient.

Future Plans & Advice for Other Municipalities looking at GOGov

Lakewood continues to explore new ways to expand GOGov’s capabilities to enhance services and improve resident engagement.

The city's experience with GOGov has been positive, and Public Information Officer Dan Stoutamire  said the CRM solutions from GOGov serve the city’s needs.

"GOGov’s customer support team is fantastic and always responsive. They routinely follow up with me as the primary point of contact on any open tickets and are happy to work directly with my colleagues around the city. They’ll also work with you on specific or sensitive issues for no additional charge" - Dan Stoutamire, Public Information Officer for Citizen Engagement

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Your Municipality Powered by GOGov

GOGov is committed to helping municipalities and local governments enhance community engagement, streamline operations, and foster transparent communication. Our partnership with Lakewood, CO, demonstrates the potential of our solutions to make a meaningful impact on local governments and districts of all sizes, and our continued efforts to improve and innovate further.  

GOGov specializes in providing CRM, Code Enforcement, Citizen Notifications, Online Permitting and mobile software to local governments of all sizes. We built our software from the ground up working with the departments and staff that now use our products every single day.

Interested in learning more? Sign up for a demo with the GOGov team today.

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