Smithville previews redesigned city website, unveils new service-request and accessibility features

Gina, a city staff member leading the website project, told a Smithville work session the redesigned city website is scheduled to go live on Monday, May 12 and that the project team is "sticking to May 15 as the final cutoff." She said the migration may be "a little bit bumpy" but staff have trained department editors and will run a public information campaign ahead of the transition.

The presentation walked aldermen through the new landing page, a central search box, quick links for common tasks such as utility payments, and a separate meetings-versus-events calendar with an export function. Gina showed a department page for Parks and Recreation with links to Team Sideline for program sign-ups and said each department will have contact information and an editor responsible for that content. She thanked Linda Drummond, "who worked really hard on this as a project manager with me," and the communications committee for their contributions.

Planned customer-service features include an online public service request center where residents will be able to geolocate a concern, upload a picture, and view reports filed in the previous 30 days; Gina said the system will create a centralized database and an escalation workflow so a request not responded to in a set time will route to another staff member (example given: after five hours it could escalate to Gina). "It creates a database and say, you know, I saw this pothole, but I'm not sure if anyone else has reported it yet," she said.

Gina demonstrated the site’s accessibility widget, which offers text resizing, dyslexia-friendly fonts, contrast options, link highlighting and a translation tool. She also showed a sample online employment application form that requires completion of required fields and file uploads so HR can receive complete submissions. She said similar online forms will be implemented for utility billing and business licenses, with business license renewal targeted for the October renewal period.

Council members asked about search behavior and historic documents; staff said historical documents will be archived (five years for some meeting minutes and budgets) and the new search can be tuned to return prioritized resources. They discussed linking to external code resources such as International Code Council materials and the city’s codified ordinances when appropriate.

Gina said the vendor provides unlimited training and post-launch features such as a chatbot can be added later. She asked for patience after launch and said staff will communicate steps residents must take to retain e-notify subscriptions on the new system. No formal votes were taken; council members thanked Gina and Linda and the work session proceeded to adjournment.