LVKS.org has been recognized by Juggle as one of the top city government websites in the state of Kansas. Below you'll find an interview with Sara Wright, Public Information Officer for the City of Leavenworth.
- LVKS.org is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
Well, I’d love to be able to take credit, but having just started at the City less than a month ago, I have had very little to do with its development up to this point.
- What are the overarching objectives of Leavenworth's current e-government initiatives?
There are two major objectives for our City website: 1. Provide local government transparency and 2. Supply information to the public.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by LVKS.org, both on- and off-line?
At this point, it’s a lot of word of mouth, but we also push a lot of our residents to the website through our government television channel (Ch. 2) and our periodic newsletter, the City Connection.
- How has citizen feedback influenced the development of Leavenworth's e-government services?
I can’t speak for the past development, but I know that gathering user feedback on our site is one of the first items on my agenda. Interestingly enough, we are looking at another redesign of this site over the next few months and website usability studies will have a large influence on that process.
- What is the most-used feature or service on the site?
Our staff directory, calendar, local maps and on-going street construction updates are among the most visited pages this year.
- How has streaming public meetings enhanced accessibility to city government information?
It's greatly increased accessibility to that information. We do air the meetings on our Ch. 2 throughout the week following the meeting, as well, but with the online streaming option, they are always available for the public to go back and watch.
- 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 Leavenworth's web portal?
I’m eager to give the City of Leavenworth an even larger online presence with some tweaks to the website’s current design, establishing a much larger social media following, an electronic newsletter and online interactive marketing pieces. In addition, I’d like to start streaming more than just the public meetings, and start including our monthly First Focus segments and some instructional videos, as well.