ValdostaCity.com 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 Sementha Mathews, Public Information Officer for the City of Valdosta.
- ValdostaCity.com is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
In December 2006, shortly after a new Public Information Officer (PIO) and after the city’s first Information Technology (IT) Manager were hired, the partnership spearheaded a team to seek the services of an experienced web site design firm to redesign, develop, implement, and provide hosting and maintenance services for a completely new city web site. The IT Manager was the technical guidance, the overall project manager, and the liaison between the project staff and the vendor. He also ensured project completion and budget compliance and acted as a translator for the technical aspects of the project. The PIO primarily formed the group with representatives from every city department, kept key people up-to-date with our progress through various media sources, and remains responsible for the maintenance of the web site and its contents.
- Can you summarize the history of Valdosta’s web portal?
The web site, created in 2000, was obsolete and in need of a brand new look and improved functionality—more than just a mere facelift. After all, Valdosta is Georgia’s 11th largest city, is the premier city of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, and serves as a retail hub for 15 -17 surrounding South Georgia and North Florida counties. The web site was a dated project that was totally out-sourced with no internal controls or local access to content. Since clear communication and easy access to information is of top concern to our city’s leadership and necessary to perform the work on behalf of our citizens, the newly-formed task team worked quick and smart to identify site needs and the adequate budget to build a premiere web site that is designed upon ease of use from the viewpoint of the citizens. Since launching the new site in October 2007, the IT Manager and PIO still work together at maintaining the site—IT from the technical angle and the PIO from the content management angle—updating information, promoting it, and overseeing a group of content managers and coordinating their semi-annual refresher training.
- What are the overarching objectives of Valdosta’s current e-government initiatives?
Our objectives are to deliver as much fresh, accurate and timely on-demand information to our citizens as possible, exceeding their expectations with a progressive, attentive local government.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by ValdostaCity.com, both on- and off-line?
One of the first things we aimed to accomplish was to brand our new web site with the same look as other communication tools being used. There is no doubt when people visit our site that they are in the City of Valdosta. Since the web site is the central location where citizens and visitors alike can get anything from a telephone number to information about various city services, literally everything—literature, emails, promotional items, banners, press releases, etc—that goes out has our web site address stamped on it. Top city leadership—mayor, council, city manager and department heads—and other employees have attached a web site tease to their email signature blocks that reads, “To sign up for e-news and stay informed of the news and events taking place in the city, visit www.valdostacity.com/publicinformation,” which brings additional attention to the site.
- How has citizen feedback influenced the development of Valdosta’s e-government services?
The city’s PIO receives a bulk of calls each day that helps determine citizens’ needs and interests. Working with the IT Manager and Department Heads, the PIO ensures that this information is easily accessible and that e-government services are promoted. Currently, citizens may sign up for e-news, pay bills online, complete online requests for service, take care of certain business actions, and several other upcoming e-government strategies that serve our citizens. The IT Manager is updating our software that will make future e-government services available.
- What is the most-used feature or service on the site?
In July 2010, our site received 1.9 million hits. The Home page, Career Opportunities and Job Posting pages remain some of our top visited pages. In addition, the Residents, Business, and Visitor tabs in our top navigation bar, as well as the convenient buttons on the home page’s bottom left, are also widely used—as the information most requested by citizens is linked to these areas with citizen ease in mind. Our news and calendar features are also used often and is updated daily with the news and information about the city. Citizens also have the ability to sign up for e-news—as over 1,800 citizens have already done—giving them a snapshot of what is happening “In the City This Week” and other interesting information.
- Why did you choose to feature community videos instead of text information? How can visitors use these videos to become more connected to the community?
We have featured the Community Videos on our homepage because they provide a quick snapshot of our community on a variety of topics, from relocation information to education to dining and shopping pleasures in our area. Local businesses have sponsored these videos and their links may be found near the videos. These videos are updated every 2-3 years, and we are in the process of replacing them on our web site in the next month. While there is a lot of text for site visitors to access on our home page, the videos are enjoyable and give viewers a quick visual of our beautiful city.
- How have you tried to make it as easy as possible for citizens to find exactly the information they are looking for on your web site? How have you collaborated on other city departments to accomplish this?
The innovative design aids web site visitors who generally know what information they need or services they want to secure. The site also facilitates usage by visitors who may not understand how to find that information or service within the governmental organization. Content managers in each city department are brought together semi-annually to discuss web site improvements, as well as to receive refresher training. Through discussions with these department reps, coupled with citizen input, we make necessary improvements to the web site. Our web navigation tools are evaluated often to make sure the information most requested is easiest to find. The “I want to” and “search” options at the top of the home page are also valuable tools for locating information. The PIO sends a Monday email blast to local media and e-news recipients which includes a section called “helpful city web pages.” Each Monday five different sites are highlighted, giving attention to the wide variety of information that is maintained on the City of Valdosta site. Special addresses are often created for the most used sites, such as www.valdostacity.com/economicdevelopment or www.valdostacity.com/publicinformation.
- 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 Valdosta’s web portal?
(1) We are in the process of totally revamping our bill paying process. We are changing our internal software that drives that process, and once that is complete, we can provide a much more robust user experience. (2) We are planning the migration of our utility signup, business license renewal and work orders to our web portal. (3) We are also moving our vendor maintenance to a web based portal where vendors are not only responsible for maintaining their own personal data, but also can register for bid and RFP opportunities, check invoice payments and retrieve PO data. (4) Our employees can also take advantage of accessing their pay, benefits, and other personal data. This will allow validation, signup and change of information without a personal visit to the HR department. This ‘outside the box’ thinking is not only beneficial for governments, but for almost any employer.
- Is there anything else you would like to tell us about ValdostaCity.com?
What you see now is only the tip of the iceberg. The ultimate goal for Valdostacity.com is to create a virtual City Hall where citizens, vendors, visitors, etc. can complete most, if not all transactions, interactions and communications via the web from wherever they happen to be in the world while still delivering world-class customer service.