Local government agencies, municipalities, counties, and utilities face a universal challenge: how do you meet the growing demand for convenient digital services while simultaneously cutting administrative costs? The answer lies not just in adopting new technology, but in applying a proven framework to every citizen touchpoint, especially payments.
At CORE, we’ve boiled this down to a simple, actionable score: TRUE Ratio.
The TRUE Ratio is the formula for achieving Trust-Powered Efficiency. It states that every dollar or unit of effort invested in improving the constituent experience (T, R, and U) yields up to a 10x return in back-office Efficiency (E).
TRUE Ratio = (T x WT) + (R x WR) + (U x WU) + (E x WE)
Understanding the Four Pillars
The TRUE Ratio breaks down the user experience into four measurable components, with the first three directly fueling the fourth:
| Pillar | Definition | Why it Matters |
|---|---|---|
| T: Trust | Transparency and Familiarity in the digital payment experience. | The system looks and feels like the government’s own website and mirrors familiar retail payment flows (like Amazon). Lack of trust leads to costly, in-person payments. |
| R: Reliability | Consistent Delivery of Service with enterprise-grade stability and security. | 99.98% uptime and a track record of zero data breaches. We remove the burden of PCI compliance and provide a secure, stable infrastructure. |
| U: Usability | Citizen-Centric Design that is intuitive and frictionless. | An “Amazon-like” payment experience that requires no training for residents. This is the primary driver of digital self-service adoption. |
| E: Efficiency | Cost Savings and Resource Optimization through process streamlining. | The measurable return: a massive reduction in manual labor, error rates, support calls, and costs associated with delinquency management. |
Why the TRUE Ratio is Critical for Public Service
For essential service providers—from municipal and county tax collection and licensing departments to electric, water, and waste utilities—the payment moment is critical. It’s often the only direct interaction a resident has with your digital systems.
- Municipalities & Counties: When collecting taxes or fees, residents need Trust (T) to ensure their money is going to the right place securely. A Usable (U) online portal drastically increases timely payments.
- Utilities: For monthly bills, Reliability (R) is paramount. If the payment portal is down, customers call staff, creating immediate inefficiencies (E).
- All Agencies: By focusing on the full TRU experience, you shift the default behavior from expensive, high-labor channels (mail, phone, in-person) to digital self-service.
This isn’t just theory. CORE clients who adopt this integrated approach see measurable success. For instance, Grand County, UT, saw a 10x increase in online transaction volume after simplifying their resident experience, proving that a high TRU score directly results in massive Efficiency (E) gains.
Your TRUE Scorecard
The TRUE Ratio isn’t a vague promise; it’s a measurable partnership. We provide agencies with a TRUE Scorecard that tracks performance across all four pillars—T, R, U, and E—ensuring continuous improvement and proving the ongoing efficiency of the system.
By investing in Trust, Reliability, and Usability, you are not just improving service—you are unlocking a proven formula for 10x operational Efficiency in your local government, municipal, county, or utility operation.
Ready to see how each pillar contributes to your 10x return? Stay tuned for our next post where we deep dive into T for Trust.
If your current payment experience is not delivering a 10x TRUE Ratio, your agency has untapped efficiency potential. Let’s schedule a 15-minute chat to review your current payment environment and provide a preliminary recommendation for improving your overall TRUE Ratio.
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