Case Study: City of Grand Rapids achieves 257+ services online, 50% online payments & 79% fewer walk-ins with OpenCities by Granicus

How Grand Rapids Made the Digital Shift to City Services

The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, needed to scale how it served roughly 180,000 residents while preserving high-quality customer service. An outdated website forced residents to print, mail or fax forms and drove heavy walk-ins and call volume, limiting staff capacity.

Partnering with OpenCities (now by Granicus), the city launched a modern digital services site in five months, enabling residents to complete transactions on any device and shifting many interactions online. The rollout put 257+ services online, produced about 1,000 new online submissions within weeks, moved 50% of former walk-up payments to online forms, and cut walk-ins substantially—freeing staff to focus on service.

City of Grand Rapids

Rosalynn Bliss

Mayor of Grand Rapids