How the City of Inglewood launched a first-of-its-kind property tax relief program in less than a month

The City of Inglewood has seen its star rise over the last decade. In 2011, the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. Mayor James Butts Jr. guided the city back from the brink. He helped negotiate the construction of two high-profile venues in Inglewood—SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome, revitalizing the city. 

Inglewood is densely populated, with 115,000 residents and a footprint of only nine square miles. Because the city is so dense, when there’s construction at this scale, everyone feels the pain.

As construction wrapped up, Mayor Butts wanted to provide some relief for residents, particularly those who hadn’t received support via previous COVID-19 and housing relief programs. He understood that long-time residents who owned their homes had been overlooked by grant programs directed specifically at landlords and tenants. 

When Eileen [from U.S. Bank] connected us with Submittable, it became this kind of three-way party. And so we worked as one unit.

Sharon Koike

Finance Director, City of Inglewood

With the city in the best financial condition it had been in a long time, the Mayor decided to launch a new program.

Using money from the general fund, Mayor Butts formed a high-level plan for a tax relief program. The city would send a one-time payment of $500 to residents who owned and lived in a home in Inglewood. Through the program, $2.3 million would be distributed to 4,730 residents. 

A big ask for a busy team

The details of the tax relief plan would fall to Sharon Koike's three-person finance team to figure out. Program specialists Diana Johnson and Maria Rodriguez worked with Sharon to create a blueprint. “[The mayor] kind of gave us the broad guidelines of how we wanted to do it. So we had to figure out how to get it done,” Sharon says. 

To avoid creating extra work for constituents, the finance team made the eligibility criteria straightforward. 

If a taxpayer’s mailing address matched the property they owned, they were eligible. Once they had that piece figured out, they had to build a process that would be secure and accessible for everyone.

Sharon and her team knew the stakes were high. If the program didn’t follow through on its promises, taxpayers might lose trust in the city officials. They had to nail it. 

First, they confronted the realities of what they were working with.

1. A three-person team

A three-person team is tiny when it comes to getting a new program like this off the ground. Submittable customer success project manager Laura Rensing has seen 20-person teams running similar programs. Plus, Sharon and her two teammates had to continue their regular finance department work. 

In essence, they were pouring this programmatic work onto an already full plate. Sharon recognized that they would need some help. She started by reaching out to U.S. Bank, one of the city’s banking partners. U.S. Bank helped connect Sharon to Submittable. 

“In the short amount of time that we had, we were under the gun to figure out something to do,” Sharon says. “And thank God U.S. Bank had already established this third-party relationship with Submittable. So, very quickly, it became a three-party team.” Partnering up meant the Inglewood team didn’t have to start from scratch.

2. A tight timeline

The Mayor wanted to deliver help when it would be most meaningful for constituents. His goal was to deliver funds by December.

“The initiative was approved by the council at the end of June. And the mayor wanted to get these relief payments in the hands of residents during the holiday season,” Sharon says. That meant they had to launch quickly. Plus they needed an application that residents could easily complete. 

The tight timeline didn’t mean they were willing to compromise on security. The Inglewood team needed a process that would put residents’ banking information into a secure third-party system, protecting sensitive data and preventing fraud. 

3. A population with limited computer skill

Overall, the population of long-time residents skews elderly. Many were inexperienced at using computers. Quite a few had never set up an email address. 

An online portal was essential for security and speed, but the Inglewood team needed it to be accessible too. They wanted every eligible resident to have the opportunity to apply. 

Sharon and her team were also aware that residents might be skeptical. They needed constituents to trust the process or the program would fall apart. “We knew there were going to be challenges because to do the ACH, people would have to trust that this was a real program, and they had to be willing to enter their banking information into the portal,” Sharon says.  

Our most common question was, 'How do I create an email address?' Out of the almost 6,000 people who applied, most of them were able to do it without help.

Laura Rensing

Customer Success Project Manager

Showing up for community members

In the end, the small but mighty finance team pulled off an incredible feat, delivering $2.3 million to 4,730 Inglewood residents. 

Average participation rates for programs like this tend to hover around 20-30%, but Inglewood had a 46% participation rate for eligible applicants. And 97% of applicants were approved for payment. These numbers reflect the care and consideration from the Inglewood team in how they structured the program and in their communication with residents. 

Here are the priorities that helped them do it.

1. Build partnerships with real people

The Inglewood team understood that good partnerships happen at the personal level. They took it upon themselves to cultivate relationships with the people at partner organizations. 

The strength of those relationships meant that partners became like extra team members. In turn, Inglewood’s small team could punch well above its weight.

“When Eileen [from U.S. Bank] connected us with Submittable, it became this kind of three-way party. And so we worked as one unit,” Sharon says. 

The Inglewood team made a connection with Submittable customer success project manager Laura Rensing. They helped Laura understand the urgency of what they wanted to achieve. 

When they look back at the success of the program, this relationship was essential. “Laura was a big key and I think a big part of it was because she was very invested in it and she understood the program,” Sharon says. 

Building a brand new program required smooth communication and trust. The Inglewood team kept good lines of communication with the mayor’s office. And they were in close contact with Laura at Submittable. “I think that's what made the program itself very successful. Anytime I would call Laura, she was on it,” Maria says. “That has made a huge difference.” 

2. Prioritize the citizen experience 

At every stage of the program, the Inglewood team focused on creating a positive experience for citizens. They needed a process that would be easy to complete and keep personal and banking information secure. With Submittable, they could provide both.

Constituents entered their information into Submittable directly, so Sharon and her team didn’t have to worry about handling the banking information. “It was good for us because we didn't want anybody thinking we had any of their personal information on our computers on our desk,” she says. 

Overall, constituents found Submittable to be user friendly. The bulk of the questions fielded from residents were not about the platform at all. 

“Our most common question was, How do I create an email address?” Laura Rensing says. “Out of the almost 6,000 people who applied, most of them were able to do it without help.” 

Automated review scripts for address verification and deduplication took some of the manual work off the Inglewood team’s plate. 

Plus, Submittable provided a clear record of communication for each applicant, so if anyone had questions, Sharon and her team had the visibility they needed to see what residents had already received and completed. “Even though we didn't see your personal data, we were able to tell if you went into the system and created a user ID,” she says. 

Because they were so strategic about automating manual tasks, Sharon and the team had the bandwidth to offer one-on-one assistance for the people who needed more support. 

For residents who didn’t have email addresses, Diana, Maria, and Sharon would sit down and help them create an email account and then walk them through the application. “Elderly people would come in with their caregiver, they came in with a wheelchair, they came in with a walker. You know, we were doing as much as we could to accommodate them and they were very grateful,” Sharon says. 

Being able to offer personal help for those who needed it meant the Inglewood team could be confident that no residents would be left behind. 

3. Move with urgency 

Sharon and her team recognized that moving quickly would give residents in Inglewood support when they needed it most. But to get the program up and running on time, they needed to be flexible. They decided to break the application process into two parts. 

First, the team would verify applicants qualified for the program. Then as a follow-up, they would get the residents’ banking details. 

The two-part approach helped the team launch fast and contributed to a better experience for applicants. “We ended up only taking banking data for those people who actually were approved,” Sharon says. This meant no one shared their banking information unnecessarily. 

To help get money to residents as quickly as possible, the Inglewood team chose payment options that could deliver funds quickly. “We could offer people ACH payments which were immediately put in their bank account. They had the option of taking the ACH payment or receiving a [custom-branded ReliaCard from U.S. Bank],” Sharon says. Providing that option gave applicants flexibility and prevented any delays for people who needed the money right away. 

An outpouring of gratitude 

The success of Inglewood’s tax relief program was evident in the appreciation residents showed Mayor Butts and the team who made it all possible. 

People called Sharon and her team to say thank you, which was a new experience for a finance team. “In finances, we don't usually get compliments. We don't usually get thank-you calls,” Sharon says, smiling. 

The program itself made a real impact for community members. The $500 meant Christmas presents and Thanksgiving dinners for many residents. One resident was brought to tears. “She said she only had five dollars in her bank account, and she was so grateful,” Diana says. 

It’s a good reminder that for government programs, all the behind-the-scenes work for a program can have a profound impact on real people.