ChandlerAZ.gov has been recognized by Juggle as one of the top city government websites in the state of Arizona. Below you'll find an interview with Kim Kaan, Web Editor for the City of Chandler.
- ChandlerAZ.gov is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
I am incredibly proud of the City of Chandler's Web site. It is a nationally award-winning Web site that is not only useful to our residents, but also to the Web community as a whole. We have been recognized for the site's ease of use, Web transparency and interactive services. I oversee the site's content as the City's Web Editor.
- Can you summarize the history of Chandler’s web portal?
The City of Chandler's Web site was initially designed by a third-party vendor. Through the collaborative efforts of the City's Information Technology and Communications and Public Affairs Department, we transitioned the site to be hosted in-house and maintained on internal servers in 2004, developing content management software that is customized for our system. Since that time, the site has evolved into an award-winning site of more than 1,000 Web pages. For the last two years, we also have been incorporating social media and video to enhance the site and give our users a comprehensive multimedia-based site. In the process, we have been recognized for being among the best in our population category by the Center for Digital Government as well as other accolades from our peers.
- What are the overarching objectives of Chandler's current e-government initiatives?
The City of Chandler strives to be among the most technologically advanced municipalities and to be a leader in Web and social media development by proactively updating and reaching out to our community online.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by ChandlerAZ.gov, both on- and off-line?
We have used the Web as a primary tool in our overall marketing efforts. The City's communication strategy is fairly comprehensive. When we promote a service or product, we uses a variety of tools, including the Web site, listservs, news releases, newsletters and, now, our social media sites on Twitter, Facebook and Nixle.
- How are you utilizing cutting-edge web technology to connect citizens with the city of Chandler?
Lately, we have been incorporating more social media to connect with our citizens. We also continue to enhance our Web site with more interactive services, such as utility bill pay, recreation class registration and online job applications, which also are our most used features and services on the site.
- What has been the response to the Chandler online opinion polls? How are you using the information gleaned from the poll results?
Each month, we get quite a few responses to the online opinion polls. They are evaluated and sent to the appropriate departments to consider modifying the program or services, based on the feedback we receive. I also have found that the questions about technology generally are the ones that are answered the most.
- 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 Chandler’s web portal?
We are looking forwarding to redesign the Web site, so that it never is dated. We will incorporate the best of what is available in terms of technology on the site and certainly keep our eye on the trends to decide what is useful and exciting to add to our e-government strategy.
- What else that you would like to tell us about ChandlerAZ.gov?
I would like to encourage and invite Web users to check out our site! We also welcome feedback and are grateful for this opportunity to share our excitement for our Web site and our All-America City!