By the end of 2011, the city hopes to have its new electronic citizen request for service tracking system in place and publicly available, said City Manager Larry Arft. The technology will provide Beloit residents with near-instant communication with any city department or division.
For instance, a downed power line could quickly be reported to the Fire Department or Engineering Department. A problem with playground equipment could be directed towards Parks and Leisure, all possible without having to wade through paper work or long phone conversations.
“Any request of criminal complaint can be sent using the system,” Arft said. “The system will eliminate the possibility of things slipping through the cracks.”
At present, the e-citizen technology is undergoing some final design work. Angela Galfano, director of Information Technology Systems, has been responsible for leading its development. The Information Systems Department had an adopted operation budget of $668,151 in 2011, according to an annual report.
She said the request form would be straightforward and easy to find on the city’s website. Those making inquiries will be required to supply their name and contact information as well as the location and nature of their request. Once the form has been submitted, residents will receive a confirmation email. Updated emails will be sent explaining the request’s status.
Before making the system available to the public, it will be tested internally among city employees, Arft said. He hopes it will be ready for citizen use by the end of 2011.
Galfano said the major hurdles remaining in the system’s development include working out all the bugs and making it as efficient as possible.
“Although we are eager to unveil this new and exciting system to the public, we are equally mindful of getting it right the first time,” she said via email. “It is important that we are fully satisfied with the results of our work and can provide our citizens with a system they can use with confidence.”
Both Galfano and Arft said this new system fits in perfectly with the city’s e-government initiative, part of the Eco-Municipality Sustainable Guidelines adopted by the City Council in 2007.
“This project fits the city’s e-government initiative perfectly by making the City of Beloit available anytime, anywhere,” Galfano said.
Arft said the technology would be “another nice e-government tool.”
Since launching the e-government movement, Beloit has shifted City Council agendas, employee payrolls, budget information, purchase orders and many other things from paper to electronic-based formats, Arft said. The change has produced “considerable savings” for the city and has also made processes quicker, he added.
“We’ve been able to do things electronically we were never able to do before with paper,” he said. “It’s made government much more transparent and thoroughly available.”
For example, City Council agendas and Beloit Reports are sent out on Wednesdays and Fridays, respectively, by email. Doing so by paper mail would have be prohibitively expensive, Arft said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Will O’Brien
Quelle/Source: Beloit Daily News, 04.08.2011
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