Public finance professionals in state and local governments are under increasing pressure, expected to move money faster, close the books sooner, withstand deeper audits and deliver greater transparency, all with lean teams and aging systems. At the same time, these expectations reflect how central and visible public finance has become. It also reflects how much trust is placed in the teams who manage it.
New data in Euna Solutions’ State of Public Payments and Reconciliation Report reveals how agencies are managing resident payments today and what those conditions signal as governments move forward. The report draws on a survey of more than 50 public finance professionals from cities, counties and special districts across North America, conducted as agencies closed one fiscal year and set priorities for the next.
Payments Are More Central—and More Exposed
Constituent payments now make up roughly 46 percent of total local government revenue, according to the Tax Policy Center. That revenue funds everything from utilities and courts to permits and property taxes. These transactions are drawing closer scrutiny not only from finance teams but also from residents, auditors, and agency leadership—a sign of how closely payment operations are tied to confidence in government services.
At the same time, the report shows that the systems handling those payments remain highly manual. Nearly two-thirds of agencies spend more than 10 hours per month reconciling transactions across multiple systems, and some report spending more than 80 hours per month. This highlights one of the many manual tasks that weigh down small teams.
For many teams, this reality has clarified where the largest efficiency gains now exist, not in processing more payments, but in reducing the time spent tracking them down, standardizing them and getting them into a single, reliable view as reporting timelines compress and transparency expectations continue to rise.
Lean Staffing Is the Operating Reality
Staffing realities compound that strain:
- 47 percent of state and local government agencies rely on one to two employees to manage payments
- 45 percent operate with only three to five staff members
These small teams are responsible for far more than processing transactions. They also handle compliance, audits, vendor coordination, and resident support. When teams are small, inefficiencies can add up quickly. A system issue, an unexpected audit request or a staff departure can disrupt revenue operations. As a result, agencies are increasingly evaluating whether their technology actively supports limited capacity—or simply assumes more hands are available. Resilience increasingly comes down to whether the systems in place are built to support limited capacity or quietly work against it.
Fragmentation Shifts from Annoyance to Risk
Nearly half of the agencies surveyed rely on three or more vendors to manage payments. Finance teams cite manual reconciliation, juggling multiple systems, and limited integration. Even so, vendor consolidation ranks low among future priorities, an indication that many agencies are prioritizing short-term continuity over deeper structural change. That tradeoff is becoming harder to ignore. What once felt workable is now prompting more agencies to reassess how fragmentation affects risk, staff time and visibility, as well as where targeted consolidation or integration could deliver outsized benefits.
Delinquent Payments Remain a Persistent Drain
Externally, delinquent payments are the most pressing challenge. Sixty percent of respondents cited late or missed payments as a primary concern. These delays disrupt cash flow and divert staff time to collections, reporting and compliance follow-ups.
Yet improving on-time payments does not rank among agencies’ top future priorities. This gap highlights less a lack of awareness than a lack of practical tools. Many agencies lack the integrated data, visibility, or tools needed to influence payment behavior at scale, even as the impact of delinquency continues to grow. As payment platforms mature, closing this gap represents a meaningful opportunity to improve cash flow without increasing staff workload.
Modernization Must Be Inclusive
Despite years of digital initiatives, traditional payment channels remain deeply embedded. Eighty-three percent of agencies still accept payments by mail, and half continue to rely on in-person cashiering. Community resistance to digital-only models remains strong. For many residents, those options are still essential.
That reality reframes what modernization means. Payment systems must preserve access and equity while easing internal complexity. The goal is not forced digitization, but smarter orchestration across channels. Supporting both digital and traditional payments without multiplying workloads is becoming a defining requirement of successful modernization.
Conclusion
Across state and local governments, finance leaders are stabilizing payment operations by focusing less on wholesale system replacement and more on targeted, purpose-built support. The most effective approaches share a few common traits. They integrate with existing financial systems, automate high-friction tasks and provide the transparency auditors and leadership increasingly expect. Rather than adding pressure, purpose-built payment software is increasingly helping finance teams shift from constant triage toward more proactive financial management.
The author, Mykola Konrad, is Chief Product Officer at Euna Solutions.