Alpharetta.GA.US has been recognized by Juggle as one of the top city government websites in the state of Georgia. Below you'll find an interview with Michael Riddle, Web Administrator for the City of Alpharetta.
- Alpharetta.GA.US is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
From conceptualization to finish. Before coming to the City of Alpharetta, our website had always been hosted and controlled by an outside entity. When I was hired by the City of Alpharetta I was tasked with the creation of a website that would accomplish a variety of tasks. My role was as Project Manager, Bug Tester or QC as well as Information Gatherer, Graphic Artist and Webmaster. Overall, it was a team effort by everyone involved.
- Can you summarize the history of Alpharetta’s web portal?
Working with a developer to code the project, the idea was to create a Content Management System that could accommodate a variety of informational tasks and keep development time down to a reasonable level. Nearly eight years ago it was spawned by adequate access to open source code (PHP) and the ability to pull data from a Microsoft SQL database. At that time this was considered bleeding-edge and a little risky, but it turns out to be very common in the world of web.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by Alpharetta.GA.US, both on- and off-line?
We have incorporated our web address into most of our publications, billings, etc... As well, we have produced attractive magnets, mouse pads, pencils, etc. As far as an attractor to information we utilize a list serve to update citizens to latest info that has been added.
- How has citizen feedback influenced the development of Alpharetta’s e-government services?
Citizen Feedback has been instrumental in the development of our web services. As a community, we value our citizens thoughts and wishes and try to provide a balance of what we feel to be important services to provide to our public based on our population and future growth.
- What is the most-used feature or service on the site?
Currently, a very popular feature that seems to get a lot of usage is a third party application called “SEECLICKFIX” which is used to report issues within the city such as potholes, traffic lights out or city code violations, etc.
- In what way has harnessing Twitter allowed you to connect more directly and personally with the citizens of Alpharetta?
Currently Twitter is used only as a One-way push of information i.e., Press Releases and Web Alerts. It has been helpful in cases where roads have been shut down in emergencies, etc.
- How have you collaborated with other city departments to bring more information to citizens in an interactive way?
This is part of our daily routine. Departments know that they are key to keeping the information fresh and have ownership of their material. Our Content Management System allows an information flow through our designated content authors that allows us to keep pages updated as often as we can. This content then flows to me in an approval process to validate and check for errors before getting published online.
- Where do you see e-government heading in the next 2-3 years? Are there any exciting new features or services currently in the works for Alpharetta’s web portal?
We are always looking at new ways to make our website more engaging and exciting. We have recently used another third part application known as “Open City Hall” to allow citizens to engage in civic debate and discussions. It is a productive tool and we see value in it as a controlled means of interacting with our citizens online.
- Is there anything else you would like to tell us about Alpharetta.GA.US?
I would just like to say that the world of web is a constantly changing medium and requires constant attention to keep current. I am very proud that we were able to create a municipal portal for our citizens that was based on our own concepts and around a Content Management System and an array of applications molded specifically to our operations. You see a lot of city websites that are based on a closed CMS or system that cannot be customized to handle specific requirements. Our system is totally unique in that it was built by us and can be customized by us as some of our requirements change through our open source modules. There are a lot of emerging Open Source products on the market now which makes the game keeping up even more interesting and exciting.