The City of Everett, Washington, serves its community with municipal innovation by adopting Microsoft Power Platform

In need of a digital solution for manual processes, the City of Everett, Washington, sought to develop low-code/no-code applications to avoid the limitations of traditional commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems. The City pivoted to Microsoft Power Platform, unlocking the potential for innovation with existing licenses. Multiple departments now develop applications tailored to their unique needs and specifications, realizing substantial cost savings, reducing manual work, and saving valuable time. The application development capabilities within the Microsoft ecosystem empower City employees, enhancing internal efficiencies and ensuring faster, more personalized services for the constituents they serve.

Discovering a digital data reporting solution within Power Apps

In 2019, the City of Everett faced a daunting data reporting challenge for its grant-funded community support initiatives, specifically efforts by its police department to help people in need. Emily Dorscher, Crime Analyst for the Everett Police Department, was assigned to the Community Outreach and Enforcement Team (COET), a co-response team of law enforcement and social workers, and tasked with improving the City’s reporting methods. At the time, employees were stuck in a manual routine of jotting down notes, typing up reports, and then waiting up to two months for a volunteer to input data into a database for analytics. The lack of real-time insights slowed progress and limited the team’s reach.

Looking for a solution, the team considered COTS software systems, but these offered functionalities that didn’t align with the City’s unique needs. Dorscher also worried that the typical underutilization of a COTS system wouldn’t justify the cost. During an exploration of Microsoft 365, Dorscher came across Microsoft Power Apps and recognized the potential of this product. Dorscher collaborated with COET to develop a solution that would capture and share information seamlessly.

“Because we were already a Microsoft 365 customer, we had access to Power Platform as part of our stack. It was a no-brainer to at least try it because a lot of what we needed was free or included,” says Steven Hellyer, IT Director for the City of Everett. 

Saving up to $120,000 in development costs

Empowered to refine their systems, the team took a collaborative DIY approach to develop an app that could capture and track important data, helping them analyze critical information. The final product provides personal profiles for clients while also tracking engagements, services offered, and declined services. This application, tailored for working with the unhoused population, evolved to include tracking vehicles, mapping camp locations, and assessing hazards.

The team also developed an expansion of the Mental Health Professional (MHP) application, a tool that facilitates coordination between embedded social workers in the police, fire, and library departments, increasing access to social services in the community. As their use of the Power Platform matured, the team adopted agile methodologies, deploying regular updates to the application. They programmed MHP to provide real-time data on community needs, streamlining grant reporting for the police department. This ingenuity resulted in significant savings, cutting $90,000–$120,000 in software acquisition costs. 

Transforming City employees into a team of developers

MHP was a catalyst for innovation, inspiring other City departments to create tailored applications. The success of this approach rests on the IT department’s willingness to support the development of new, creative solutions. IT professionals are traditionally hesitant to entrust data to outside departments, but Everett’s IT team understood that too much control stifles innovation. They embraced the transformation by creating guardrails to establish trust and maintain its security posture. These included process documentation and classification standards as well as a center of excellence that provides oversight and support to developers across departments. 

“We refer to it as ‘losing control for the greater good,’” says Hellyer. “If you want to create innovation within an organization, you have to empower people outside of the technology department to have a stake in the development and implementation of new tools and solutions.”

After Dorscher’s initial success, the City accelerated adoption across departments, marking a strategic shift in 2023. Using its access to Microsoft Unified Support, the City initiated an extensive training program in collaboration with Microsoft, hosting Power Platform training events with a significant turnout of both IT and non-IT staff. They could now build functional, customized apps in the time it would have taken them to navigate through the procurement process for a COTS system.

The City quickly transitioned from a pilot phase to widespread adoption of Power Platform, which played a pivotal role in cultivating a thriving low-code/no-code development community within the municipal government. A formidable team of more than 10 developers has delivered five production applications, with several more in development and two on development sprints. Employees bring real-world insights into the development process, keeping the needs of the community at the forefront of every decision. The approach has proven to be a massive success, helping the City to expedite its processes, use existing licenses efficiently, and redirect staff time toward new and expanded initiatives.

“Each department has a slightly different job, but now we can help them use a system that we already have that will take them from being a hero to a superhero,” says Dorscher.

Leading the path toward municipal progress

The City of Everett’s dedicated team, equipped with Power Platform, has evolved into a powerhouse of developers, crafting solutions once considered beyond reach. The City is excited about the replicable process that promises growth and innovation. Everett’s success is etched in tangible benefits—significant cost savings, heightened efficiency, and a workforce now proficient in adapting to the ever-changing demands of the community. The City plans to build upon this success, extending Power Platform solutions across multiple departments and solidifying its position as a leader in municipal innovation.

“One of the ways you attract and retain talent is by providing tools like Power Platform that can help staff develop these skills and do their best work. Part of our goals for next year is to continue to increase our maturity and grow our number of community leaders within the City,” says Hellyer.