City of Jacksonville enhances accountability and transparency with Microsoft Power BI

Jacksonville is a rapidly growing, forward-thinking city in Northeast Florida. Committed to improving the lives of its nearly one million residents, the city is embracing technology-driven governance to enhance transparency, efficiency, and public engagement.

At the forefront of this transformation is Mayor Donna Deegan, Jacksonville’s 45th mayor and the first woman to hold the office. A longtime advocate for open government and data accessibility, she is reshaping how Jacksonville serves its citizens.

Mayor Donna Deegan set out to create a government that listens, informs, and empowers, one where real-time data fuels decisions and citizens have direct access to the information that impacts their lives.

"I think it's important, not only in getting people to be interactive with their own government, but to bring people inside City Hall," emphasizes Donna Deegan, Mayor of Jacksonville.

To turn this vision into reality, the city launched the variety of “transparency dashboards”—centralized, data-driven platforms powered by Microsoft Azure and Power BI.  These dashboards allow residents to track everything from service requests, permitting, and infrastructure projects to emergency response times, public health data, city budget allocations, and literacy programs.

Building a city connected through data

Jacksonville, in partnership with Microsoft, is setting a new standard for smart, transparent governance, closing the gap between government and citizens like never before. 

By leveraging Microsoft Azure and Power BI, the city has unified disparate data sources into a single, accessible platform, making real-time government operations visible to both officials and residents. The cloud-based infrastructure and automated data pipelines allowed Jacksonville to do this quickly, efficiently, and with agility, eliminating manual processes and enabling scalable, real-time insights across departments.

"Transparency has become a reality for citizens, empowering them to stay informed," says Aramis Alvarez, Sr. Business Intelligence Architect for The City of Jacksonville.

This transformation is perfectly reflected in the JAXEPICS Dashboard, which provides a real-time view of permitting activities, tracking submissions and project costs. By making this data publicly accessible, the dashboard enhances accountability, trust, and efficiency in local development. The impact is visible in public interest. Jacksonville.gov received over 9 million views in the past year, with 36,000 of those specifically engaging with the Transparency Dashboards, reflecting growing civic awareness and demand for open data. 

"Thanks to our innovative partnership with Microsoft, the City of Jacksonville is able to offer our residents greater transparency and accessibility through our Transparency Dashboards. This forward-looking collaboration allows my administration to share real-time information on everything from animal adoptions to road paving and more, making local government more accountable and fostering trust throughout our community. This partnership is a vital step forward in ensuring that Jacksonville remains open, efficient, and committed to serving its people," says Mayor Donna Deegan.

"With direct access to real-time service data, residents can monitor services with ease, fostering greater trust and engagement," adds Aramis Alvarez.

This culture of openness is driving real change. Waste pickup efficiency has reached an impressive 99.86% success rate, tracked through the Public Works Dashboard, which provides real-time visibility into service performance.

Efficiency redefined: A smarter, faster Jacksonville

Beyond transparency, Jacksonville’s data-driven transformation dramatically improves efficiency across city operations. Automated reporting and real-time dashboards save the city roughly 600 hours in two core reporting processes.

One example of this efficiency boost is the MyJax Requests Dashboard, which tracks 2 million resident service requests, providing real-time status updates and resolutions. "Automation has been transformative for us. Eliminating manual reporting delays has reduced inefficiencies and improved decision-making across departments," says Aramis Alvarez.

Permitting processes have also been streamlined. With an average of 9,000 permits issued each month, the city has seen major gains in efficiency, with 80% of permits in 2024 approved on the first submission, significantly reducing delays for residents and businesses alike. 

"With these tools, we’re saving time every day and ultimately improving the lives of our citizens," says Connor Streibich, Data Analyst for City of Jacksonville.

Engaging communities, empowering the next generation

Jacksonville’s commitment to innovation and community development extends far beyond transparency and efficiency; it’s about creating real impact for residents of all ages. Through data-driven solutions, the city is fostering greater awareness and stronger connections between citizens and the services that matter most.

"Improving visibility into animal care services with Animal Care at a Glance, MyJax and Budget Dashboard has strengthened trust and encouraged greater community involvement," says Aramis Alvarez.

Beyond animal welfare, Jacksonville has prioritized education and literacy with the River City Readers Dashboard. 

"With 2.5 million minutes of reading tracked, libraries can now tailor literacy programs to community needs, ensuring every child has access to resources that inspire and educate," explains Aramis Alvarez.

For teens and young adults, innovation extends into technology and career development. The COJ Service Desk Dashboard, developed under the Jax Code 4 Change initiative, serves as a platform for developing local tech talent. 

“Jacksonville is nurturing future leaders, innovators, and change makers who will shape the world with their brilliance,” emphasizes Mayor Donna Deegan. 

Powering transformation with Microsoft 

Bringing the dashboards to life required a trusted technology partner with the expertise to deliver scalability, security, and seamless integration. The City of Jacksonville turned to Microsoft, leveraging its cloud-first solutions—Microsoft Azure and Power BI.

Microsoft’s involvement extended beyond technology, it played an active role in deployment, development, and long-term success. Before the project began, Power BI usage within the city was limited. But with the close collaboration of the local account team, an intelligence specialist, and Microsoft Unified, alongside strong leadership and technical talent from the City of Jacksonville, progress accelerated quickly. Microsoft team provided technical expertise, security best practices, and strategic guidance on AI and machine learning integration. This approach laid the foundation for sustainability and future innovation.

"Microsoft’s partnership has accelerated Jacksonville’s digital transformation, enabling greater transparency, efficiency, and smarter governance for residents and city officials," reflects Aramis Alvarez.

The future of governance in Jacksonville

With citizens at the heart of its vision, the city remains committed to expanding transparency, efficiency, and innovation. By deepening its collaboration with Microsoft, Jacksonville aims to build on its success, exploring new solutions and continuing to empower city officials and the community, proving that when cutting-edge technology meets a commitment to public service, the result is a smarter, more connected city.

"Microsoft is one of our key business partners, and we look forward to continuing to see where we can innovate and drive best practices in how we use their tools," says Wanyonyi Kendrick, Chief Information Officer for the City of Jacksonville.

As the City of Jacksonville moves forward, it is modernizing its infrastructure, migrating legacy systems to Azure Cloud, and exploring AI-driven analytics to optimize city services, expanding chatbot capabilities and growing its dashboard ecosystem to further improve citizen engagement and data-driven decision-making.

"As our dashboards and Microsoft's cloud infrastructure continue to evolve, we will drive bottom-line results, ensure greater efficiencies, enhance transparency, and create a lasting impact," says Wanyonyi Kendrick.

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