Doing More With Less: Operational Efficiency in Local Government

Local governments face a convergence of pressures that make operational efficiency more important than ever. Pandemic-era federal funding is winding down, property tax revenues in many jurisdictions are constrained by statutory caps, and costs for employee benefits, technology, and public safety continue to rise. According to the National Association of Counties, local government remains one of only two sectors that has not returned to pre-pandemic employment levels, with a nationwide workforce shortage estimated at 100,000 positions. For city and county administrators, the challenge is clear: maintain or improve service delivery while operating with fewer resources and smaller teams.

The strain manifests in predictable ways. Permit processing slows as planning departments operate with vacant positions. Parks deteriorate when maintenance crews cannot keep pace with demand. Constituent complaints increase as response times lengthen across departments. Meanwhile, the pressure to modernize creates its own resource demands. Many local agencies still rely on outdated systems, manual processes, or paper-based workflows that slow service delivery and increase error rates. Upgrading these systems requires capital investment and staff capacity that are often in short supply.

Cybersecurity presents a particularly acute challenge. Local and state governments encounter upwards of 70 percent of all ransomware attacks in the United States, according to industry research. A 2024 survey found that 51 percent of local governments experienced a ransomware attack in the past year, with attacks on municipalities increasing by 148 percent. Yet only 7 percent of counties report feeling adequately funded for cybersecurity. When attacks succeed, they can paralyze government operations for days or weeks, compounding existing service backlogs and eroding public confidence.

Effective responses begin with honest assessment of current operations. Where are the bottlenecks that most significantly impact constituents? Which processes consume disproportionate staff time relative to their value? What institutional knowledge is at risk if key employees depart? These questions reveal opportunities for targeted improvement that deliver meaningful results without requiring wholesale transformation. Process documentation, cross-training, and workflow streamlining often yield significant gains at modest cost.

For local governments navigating these constraints, the path forward lies in strategic prioritization rather than across-the-board cuts. Identifying which services matter most to constituents, which processes create the greatest friction, and which investments will deliver the strongest returns allows leaders to allocate limited resources where they will have maximum impact. External perspective can help surface opportunities that internal teams, focused on daily operations, may not see. The goal is sustainable improvement: building operational capacity that supports service delivery today while creating resilience for tomorrow.