Is that pothole getting fixed? City launches myKCMO app to connect residents to services, answers faster

Kansas City, Missouri, residents have a new tool for reporting potholes, illegal dumping, missed trash pickups and other concerns impacting their neighborhoods — and it’s likely already in their pockets, city officials said this week, announcing the debut of the myKCMO app.

“This cutting edge new app will enable residents and visitors to more conveniently access information and report local issues,” said Brian Platt, city manager for KCMO. “The more efficient workflow and request tracking system will allow us to respond quicker and more efficiently to concerns.”

Among the smartphone app’s features meant to help residents quickly request city services “anytime and anywhere”:

• Report and track 311 requests more easily;
• Upload photos to show city representatives the problem;
• Connect directly with the staff member responding to the problem;
• Make payments through the app; and
• Receive alerts when your 311 case is updated, and for other city emergencies

The myKCMO app is available for free download via the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Click here to learn more about myKCMO, how to use it and where to access the platform.

In the works for more than a year, the app pre-dates COVID-19, said Chris Hernandez, director of city communications for KCMO, noting its development helped the city adapt quickly to a moment when residents suddenly needed to rely on digital tools.

“We had already been providing many services online, especially since we started using CompassKC (which allows people to apply for permits online),” Hernandez said. “A year ago, when the pandemic hit KC, we quickly pivoted to providing even more services online, and we enabled hundreds of staffers to work remotely without interrupting services to our customers.”

Wow… #KansasCitians, 800 people downloaded the myKCMO app on the first day! Keep it up. Let us help you through our upgraded simplified process. The #myKCMO app is a faster & easier connection to city services. Sign up today! #KansasCity #KCMO @KCMO311 https://t.co/utCyVBMqf9 pic.twitter.com/yhGOU2mTlB

— Kansas City, MO (@KCMO) March 12, 2021

Platt, who began in the city manager role in December, is a big fan of the app and would have pushed for its creation if the city hadn’t already been developing myKCMO when he arrived, Hernandez added.

The app was built by Plano, Texas-based Tyler Technologies, which made headlines in February with its $2.3 billion acquisition of Olathe’s NIC, a leading digital government solutions and payments company — expected to be the largest-ever deal recorded in the GovTech space.

Jean Ann Lawson, assistant to the city manager and who oversees operation of KCMO’s 311 Center, had already started researching app developers when the company that developed the city’s permit platform CompassKC — Atlanta-based EnerGov — was purchased by Tyler Technologies, Hernandez said.

“Tyler already did app development, and could include this work very easily for us,” he said.

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KCMO also recently upgraded additional online tools to help residents and businesses:

• KC BizCare launched a website to help small businesses thrive.
• Data KC updated functionality to help residents better understand and use the data the city posts here for the public.
• AlertKC upgraded its platform for residents to receive alerts by text or email for severe weather, broken water mains in neighborhoods, and other community messages.

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The app’s look was created in-house by the graphic designers in the city communications office, Jose Gonzalez and Karen Lim, Hernandez added.

myKCMO was originally intended to work largely within KCMO’s 311 system, but with most of the final development work happening during the pandemic, Hernandez said, city leaders saw the value in adding extra features, such as more integration with the city’s website.

“The primary leaders of the effort have been the 311 Center, which is part of the city manager’s office, and our IT division, but almost every single department has been involved, to ensure that all city services are well represented and function well on the app,” he said.

Such integration is crucial, Hernandez said, and the new platform enables more efficiency and faster service even when people call the 311 Center instead of using the app. What people might not immediately see: an overhauled behind-the-scenes process.

“For the public, this is an app on their phone,” he said. “For our staff, the entire back end is now working on a new platform that integrates with the app. When you report a pothole, the service request now goes directly to the staff in the field, so that the pothole can be filled sooner. Same for reporting a missed trash pickup.”

The myKCMO app is not to be confused with the myWyco app used across the mid-metro border by the neighboring Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Deployed in summer 2018, myWyco offers similar 311 services, along with vehicle renewal, property tax and parking payments, and other features developed by PayIt, one of Kansas City’s top venture capital-backed companies with more than 100 employees headquartered from its downtown KCMO offices.

Click here to learn more about changes at PayIt.

To the south, Overland Park GovTech startup Daupler developed an AI-enabled platform that helps local governments and utilities triage water and sewage issues, dispatch staff, document response data, and engage citizens throughout the process. Its system is used by communities like Johnson County, Wyandotte County, Wichita, Ottawa, Louisburg, and Springfield, with a newly rolled-out texting feature.

Click here to learn more about Daupler, one of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2021.