Transforming Ames, IA: Cutting Costs, Streamlining Payments, and Enhancing Citizen Experience

In public administration, it’s increasingly important to accomplish more with less resources and time. Although many agencies are understaffed, they serve growing communities and growing payment needs.

Outdated payment systems often exacerbate the problem instead of fixing it. They slow down reconciliation and make it harder to serve a higher volume of payments. Citizens expect convenient, flexible options like online payment portals, but legacy systems often can’t support them.

As Ames, Iowa learned firsthand, modern payment technology can help agencies respond to these challenges with speed and accuracy. The City of Ames has been a CentralSquare NaviLine customer since the 1990s, but they noticed that outdated payment tools were holding them back.

In May 2022, the city integrated CentralSquare (CST) Payments into NaviLine to streamline how citizens pay for services. Keep reading to learn how Ames solved their payment challenges.

Payment Challenges

Ames, Iowa, sits about 30 miles north of Des Moines and is home to Iowa State University. With a population over 66k, nearly half of the city’s residents are ISU students. That mix of permanent residents and transient student populations creates a unique demand for city services, especially when it comes to payments.

Like many smaller cities, Ames faced the challenge of doing more with limited staff. The finance team was overwhelmed by the growing volume of citizen payments, from utility bills and bus passes to rental housing fees and parking tickets. When the city received a surge in calls from residents asking to pay over the phone, it pushed things over the edge. Ames didn’t have an online payment portal or the bandwidth to support phone payments.

That’s when Linda, a System Analyst in Ames’ IT department, turned to CentralSquare. The city needed a way to streamline payments, reduce phone volume and give citizens better ways to pay. The result was the implementation of CentralSquare Payments – a modern, integrated solution that helped Ames manage the increasing demand without adding more workload to an already stretched team.

Solution: CentralSquare Payments

In May 2022, Ames integrated CentralSquare Payments directly into its existing NaviLine system, creating a fully unified ERP and payment platform. This seamless integration meant faster service for citizens and less strain on staff.

Instead of calling or showing up in person, citizens can now pay their utility bills, parking tickets, bus passes, etc. online – all from one place. That shift drastically reduced call volume and saved staff time so they could focus on other priorities.

Customer support was another major win. With CentralSquare as the single point of contact for both Payments and NaviLine, Ames doesn’t have to juggle multiple vendors or coordinate across third parties. Service issues are resolved faster, and questions get answered by a team that understands the full system.

Not only that, implementation was fast and staff training was nearly effortless. Training only took 5 to 10 minutes per person.

For Ames, it was a clear and easy upgrade that paid off immediately. CentralSquare Payments delivered exactly what the city needed: simplicity, speed and support.

Results

After implementing CentralSquare Payments, Ames, Iowa saw immediate and meaningful results. The most noticeable change was the dramatic drop in phone call payments. With an easy, click-to-pay online portal, citizens no longer needed to call in. And according to the city’s IT team, that shift was “life-changing.”

For citizens, the payment experience became more convenient. Everything from parking tickets to bus passes could be handled in one place (online), without needing to visit city offices or wait on hold. That convenience translated into greater satisfaction and fewer staff interruptions.

For Ames staff, it freed up hours of time every week. CentralSquare Payments automatically sends out payment links and reminders to citizens, reducing the administrative burden. And the IT team no longer has to coordinate with multiple vendors and credit card companies.

The city also saw cost savings. By eliminating third-party vendors, Ames reduced processing fees and simplified reconciliation. Now, all credit card transactions are routed through CentralSquare, creating one streamlined system that’s easier to manage and more cost-effective in the long run.

“We like it because it’s all one product. We like the one-stop shop. If something goes wrong, I make one phone call. I’m not stuck in between the financial vendor and the credit card payment. We like that it’s one vendor and I make one call and they just fix it.”

Linda Sill, Systems Analyst, City of Ames, Iowa

Next Steps

If your agency already uses NaviLine but not Payments, you’re missing out on an integration that saves time and money while improving the citizen payment experience. Just ask Ames, Iowa.

Even if you’re not already a CentralSquare customer, our Payments solution can provide numerous benefits. Schedule a discovery call today to learn how a modern payment system can help your agency accomplish more with less resources.