"The Web site, as our citizens see it, has definitely changed," said Bob Maxbauer, Havelock's director of information technology. "The first step was literally made two years ago. That was the commitment to go e-government. Then we had to build the software infrastructure." Maxbauer credits the foresight and dedication of the city's commissioner and manager for supporting his department in becoming among the first in the state to offer the services.
"It was their response to their constituents, especially in the military community," he said. "It is a population that is subject to deployment for short and long periods, where they can't necessarily tend to business locally."
In addition to online billing capability, the system offers residents information that was not previously available, such as a graph of their water consumption over the past two years.
"It was the toughest one to start with because of its complexity, and the fact that it changes moment by moment," Maxbauer said of the water and sewer payment program. "We have left as much to automation as possible, but not removed human monitoring. In fact, when any parameters move outside of the guidelines we set, the automation brings it to our attention."
The first step involved bringing all of the city's software up to one standard. The city invested $44,000 -- $20,000 from a Rural Internet Access Authority grant -- to make that happen. One of the most distinctive features of the Web site is that every piece of information that is entered becomes immediately accessible to the users.
Maxbauer anticipates that the next program to come online will be one that enables residents to arrange for permits and inspections.
"We will go through various stages of inspection, so that they can communicate with the inspections department by going online," he said. "They will see the progression of the inspection process, what stage they're at, and know what to do next."
When the component that allows residents to license their pets is up and running, it will also allow them to check the shelter for a lost pet by simply sitting down at their computer.
"When the animal control officer picks up an animal and brings it to be impounded, it's photographed and made immediately available on the Web," Maxbauer said.
If the animal is not claimed during the window of opportunity provided by the shelter, the status of the animal changes to adoptable, and the automated system moves its photo to the adoptable category.
Registration for recreation activities also is expected to be available online within the next three months.
Right now, the recreation staff has to take time away from day-to-day activities to conduct registration for programs, limiting the time to small windows of opportunity.
Maxbauer said he and his staff are pleased with the number of residents who have already used the system, and the feedback they have gotten on the first phase. Letters with account and access numbers sent to the city's 4,500 utility accounts resulted in 10 percent account activations within less than 30 days of notification.
Maxbauer said the Web site will be a consumer-driven work in progress for some time to come.
The new Web site, www.havelocknc.us, offers detailed information about using the e-government feature.
Quelle: New Bern Sun Journal, 08.05.2004
