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Show HN: Localgov.fyi – Finding local gov services made easier (localgov.fyi)
25 points by ybv 2905 days ago
4 comments

Just a bit of a backstory: We wanted to make it easier to access local governments, and started off building an engagement tool to connect with local government officials on topics that matter most to us. As we iterated on it, we learnt from our own experiences, and those of people around us, that it was not easy to find government agencies and the services (anything from parking ticket to business licenses) they provide. We are starting with a couple of hundred cities and their online services and adding more every week. We will also be adding county/state and other gov agency services (you might find some already) so that there is a single place to find every government service.

Also as we built this, we realized that there is only a fraction of services you can get online and most of them need multiple trips to the offices. There is a huge wastage of resources in every agency building the same tools, and often requiring residents/businesses to create multiple accounts to access gov services. We intend to have a SSO to be able to access any gov service online.

Our aim is to make all local gov services accessible with a simple interface, as most often gov websites aren’t easy to navigate and are very agency focused. We are curious to hear your thoughts on how we can improve and make it more useful.

Would be great if you also add how to file a (noise, parking violation, bug etc) complaint in next update.

This looks like a great resource esp. for new transplants. Congrats on the launch.

Absolutely. Ideally, we want to be able to integrate with 311 online services which cities are using so that we don't duplicate it.
Very exciting! It's cool to have something which is specific for government services given that so much focuses on consumer products when access to government services is so behind!
Thanks. The eventual goal is to make finding and gov services delightful & this is just a step towards that direction.
Interesting! As a government contractor, I could see this being super helpful. I'll keep checking in for updates!
Sure - we have been actively iterating with businesses and contractors that have been working with local govs. We will have some interesting updates and would love to get your feedback.
How do we contribute?
For now, it would be helpful to know if there are any specific online gov services that are difficult for you to access. We are still trying to get a hang of what type of services do we prioritize to make them surface here? Thanks.