Punta Gorda staff walk residents through city website, outline video, records and notification limitations

Alicia Oates, an IT department staff member for Punta Gorda City, led a public walkthrough of the city’s website and described tools residents can use to access documents, pay bills, view meeting videos and receive emergency notices.

Oates said the site includes an ADA accessibility menu to enlarge fonts and change colors, a critical-alerts banner that the city toggles for storms and boil-water notices, a link to an e‑procurement portal for bids, and a “report a problem” form that routes issues to the webmaster and appropriate departments. She also explained the city’s public-records workflow and a separate meetings‑management system used to index video to agenda items.

The presentation aimed to show where commonly requested information lives and to gather feedback on navigation and missing links. “Our goal is to make this website more user friendly,” Oates said, describing recent changes to highlight engagement surveys and emergency pages. She also asked residents for suggestions about moving frequently consulted documents — such as emergency plans and the comprehensive plan — into easier-to-find locations.

Why it matters: Residents rely on the website for time-sensitive information (payments, emergency notices, meeting recordings) and for public records. Oates and audience members raised limits and workarounds that affect access:…