Resolve and City of Mitcham:
Empowering Council Members and Strengthening Engagement with the Community.
City of Mitcham
68,000
Jamie Barrett
Julie Lamond
When City of Mitcham first explored Resolve, they weren’t actively searching for a new solution. However, after meeting with Redman Solutions, it became clear that their existing system was holding them back.
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Council Member Support Officer, Jamie Barrett, details some of the key challenges council faced with their previous meeting management system.
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"Our previous system had major limitations - we couldn’t make changes independently, and any modifications required external support, extra costs, and long wait times,” she said.  “Coming out of COVID, we needed a fully online solution. One of our biggest frustrations was losing progress when a VPN dropped, especially while writing reports. We needed a system that ensured work could be easily recovered."
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With growing frustrations, a supportive acting General Manager, and a strong push for efficiency, council partnered with Redman Solutions in March. By November, Resolve was fully implemented, bringing flexibility, reliability, and ease of use to their meeting management process.
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From a rigid, time-consuming system to a flexible, intuitive platform, Resolve has transformed how the council manages meetings - streamlining processes, empowering councillors and enhancing community transparency.
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Empowering Council Members, and Enhancing Community Engagement & Transparency
For City of Mitcham, providing council members with a digital tool that makes meeting preparation easy and enhances searchability has been a major advantage of Resolve. The speed and clarity of the advanced search functionality within the board portal has impressed council members and significantly reduced time spent sifting through documents - it’s empowered council members with instant access to the details they needed, streamlining decision-making and meeting preparation.
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“Our council members love the layout of the Board Portal and the ability to view reports in a clear, single-page format. Many who were initially hesitant quickly became converts after seeing how easy it was to navigate,” Jamie explained. “While demonstrating the feature to council members, I’ve had some blown away by the results and how they are displayed. It makes information retrieval far more efficient.”
“While demonstrating the Board Portal to council members, I’ve had some blown away by the results and how they are displayed. It makes information retrieval far more efficient."
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In addition to empowering council members, Julie highlighted how Resolve has improved community engagement and transparency. Residents can now easily access and navigate relevant information with just a few clicks, enabling them to follow council actions in real time. This accessibility has helped build trust and foster greater community involvement.
"Transparency is a key commitment for our council, and Resolve has transformed how we share information with the public,” she said. “Previously, meeting minutes and agendas were published as static documents that required endless scrolling through thousands of pages. Now, the community can easily navigate through agenda packs, find relevant discussions, and access decisions with just a few clicks."
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"We are here to provide services to the community, and that includes making it easy for them to see how decisions are made, what issues are raised, and how public funds are allocated."
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“Transparency is a key commitment for our council, and Resolve has transformed how we share information with the public."
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A key benefit for the City of Mitcham community has been the ease of navigating agenda packs and locating relevant discussions.
​Embracing Digital Transformation with Resolve
With council often dealing with 1,000+ page agendas, staff embraced the transition to a digital solution that could streamline processes, improve accessibility, and enhance collaboration.
Jamie explained that most administrators welcomed the change and quickly experienced its benefits.
"We went all in. Many council members were eager for a change, especially those who had been struggling with large paper agendas. The ability to break down documents and navigate them easily was a major advantage. Report authors championed the shift, and while some were hesitant at first, the adoption rate has been a success. Today, we have more users actively engaging with the electronic system than ever before."
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“The ability to break down documents and navigate them easily was a major advantage. Today, we have more users actively engaging with the electronic system than ever before."
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For the team at Mitcham, implementing Resolve has led to substantial time savings and streamlined processes. They no longer have to wait for last-minute agenda updates or guess the status of approvals. The solution has significantly improved efficiency and transparency, transforming their workflows.
"Before Resolve, agendas were frustrating. Making last-minute changes meant clicking a button, grabbing a coffee, and hoping the system hadn’t crashed. Now, with Resolve, the process is seamless - within less than a minute, I have a fully updated agenda. The flexibility to make quick adjustments and still meet a 5pm deadline has been a game changer,” said Jamie.
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Building Confidence while Streamlining the Council Meeting Process
Manager of Engagement and Governance, Julie Lamond, began using Resolve post-implementation and immediately noticed the impact of Resolve on the council meeting process. 
"Having used other systems before, Resolve stood out for its intuitive and user-friendly design. It allows seamless workflow tracking, easy note-taking, and quick navigation through the board portal. The ability to follow the bouncing ball makes a huge difference in efficiency."
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Julie further highlighted how approval processes have improved, resulting in greater transparency.
"Approval processes have dramatically evolved,” she said. “Every stage of review is easier to track, update, and escalate. If a change is needed, it can be updated at any stage up until publication - without delays or complications. The intuitive workflow of Resolve ensures transparency and efficiency."
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“Approval processes have dramatically evolved. Every stage of review is easier to track, update, and escalate."
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Jamie explained how improved approval processes and the introduction of structured text snippets have significantly boosted confidence across council. By streamlining approvals and enhancing information accessibility, the team has greater assurance in their decision-making processes, and text snippets provide a standardised way to input and retrieve critical information, ensuring consistency and accuracy across documents.
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“One of the biggest changes with Resolve is confidence. There’s a sense of certainty that what we’re working with is the final, approved report - it’s no longer a guessing game."
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"One of the biggest changes with Resolve is confidence. I know that every approval is properly tracked and that managers have been involved throughout the entire process. There’s a sense of certainty that what we’re working with is the final, approved report - it’s no longer a guessing game,” Jamie stated. “Text standardisation has also significantly improved communication. Previously, reports were built using embedded Word templates, often filled with jargon. Now, with text snippets, financial teams can easily access relevant information, making budget reporting simpler and more transparent.”
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Advice for other Councils
Through this transformation, City of Mitcham has not only streamlined governance processes but has also reinforced its commitment to transparency, efficiency, and digital innovation - all key to serving their community effectively.
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For councils considering the transition to Resolve, Jamie and Julie encourage embracing the change and taking ownership of the solution. They emphasise that it’s not just about improving the council meeting process - it’s about transforming it for greater efficiency, transparency, and engagement.
Jamie - Don’t be afraid to embrace change and take ownership
"Resolve looks very different from traditional meeting management software, but that’s a good thing. We took a chance on something new, and it paid off. A simple shift in mindset is all it takes - once you're in the system, you see the benefits immediately. Redman’s support has been excellent, but the real power of Resolve is in how much we can manage ourselves. The help portal and support articles are invaluable, and having that level of control allows us to be flexible and adaptive.”
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“Resolve looks very different from traditional meeting management software, but that’s a good thing. A simple shift in mindset is all it takes - once you're in the system, you see the benefits immediately."
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Julie - Leverage all of Resolve’s capabilities.
“There are so many features beyond just meeting management. We’re constantly testing and exploring new functionalities that open up new opportunities. One of the biggest testaments to the Resolve’s success is how staff are now looking to use it for internal meeting management. Their actions speak louder than words - they recognise the benefits and are looking to embrace it for their day-to-day collaboration.”
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“One of the biggest testaments to the Resolve’s success is how staff are now looking to use it for internal meeting management. Their actions speak louder than words."
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