JerseyCityNJ.gov has been recognized by Juggle as one of the top city government websites in the state of New Jersey. Below you'll find an interview with Christine Wiltanger, Website Manager for Jersey City.
- Jerseycitynj.gov is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
The website’s development in its current form was a collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Business Administration, and the Divisions of Communications and Information Technology. Each participant brought a unique viewpoint and skillset to the process.
- Can you summarize the history of Jersey City’s web portal?
Previous administrations had treated the website as an afterthought, like many other municipalities. In 2007, the City issued an RFP for web design services. We already knew what features we wanted, but realized we didn’t have the inhouse talent to package it. One thing did become clear early on – a successful municipal website is only as good as its content and our previous sites were sorely lacking in quality content. Shortly after the website re-design was completed, the city hired a full-time website manager to handle content on a day-to-day basis.
- What are the overarching objectives of Jersey City’s current e-government initiatives?
For the over 240,000 residents of Jersey City, our objectives are to provide information on City government, emergency notices, online services such as property tax payments and constituent service requests, and features on the rich history and cultural life of our City. For the 6.8 billion people who don’t live here, our objective is to put our best face forward and invite the world to settle in, invest in, and visit Jersey City.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by Jerseycitynj.gov, both on- and off-line?
We make use of social media sites, such as Facebook, and a local social media site, www.wiredjc.com, to supplement informational and emergency postings on the main site, and to drive readers to our website. As a government site, we’re not afraid of length. The prevailing website mantra out there says “less is more,” but in the interest of transparency, we prefer to err on the side of providing more information. Also, keeping in mind that not every visitor is going to read every word, we often repeat information in various ways on long pages.
- How is your online help center making more information accessible to citizens?
We periodically review the questions that come in as well as the “unlisted” service requests. If they’re useful enough to become part of the database of answers or a new service request type, we add them.
- What has been the biggest hurdle in developing and/or maintaining jerseycitynj.gov, and how did you overcome it?
At the risk of seeming immodest – none. When this project was initiated, the “stars were aligned” in terms of organizational willingness, in-house talent, and available funding. We took full advantage of that synergy, knowing we might never have it again, and, as government budgets across the nation are constricting, we are finding that we made the right decision. Never underestimate luck and timing.
- 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 Jersey City’s web portal?
We’d like to incorporate more multimedia into the site, as well as additional online and interactive services. It’s become a cliché, but having citizens online is better than having them in line.
- What else that you would like to tell us about Jerseycitynj.gov
We’re particularly proud of our Jersey City History and Special Celebrations pages which feature in-depth articles on notable Jersey City residents such as horticulturist Peter Henderson and famed Civil War author Michael Shaara. It’s a side of the City that not many people appreciate and which deserves the spotlight.