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City launches redesigned website and CivicSend newsletter; staff promise clearer access to services
Summary
City staff presented the new Department of Information and Community Engagement (DICE) website and a CivicSend e-newsletter service. Staff say the site is mobile-first, ADA-focused, and will host a feedback form and a legislative plain-language summary; council members praised the improvements and asked staff to clarify contact paths for building complaints.
City staff on April 15 showcased a redesigned municipal website and a new e-newsletter service called CivicSend, saying the changes are designed to make city information easier to find and to improve two-way public engagement.
"Our information was there. Was it easiest to find? It was not," the DICE presenter said, describing the department’s decision to prioritize accessibility and a mobile-first layout. The presentation described a new “New Projects” menu for ongoing contested projects, a staff directory feature, a built-in feedback form and a plan to publish a monthly plain-language legislative summary.
The new newsletter system, CivicSend, will offer nine topic lists (actions of Common Council, city manager updates, employment, parks and recreation, planning and development, public safety, roads/sidewalks/infrastructure, sustainability and youth programs). Staff said each list will have a minimum of one newsletter per month and that the system is template-driven so messages are consistently identifiable as city communications.
Council members praised the work and asked staff to make a short set of links councilmembers can circulate to constituents, and to make it easier to find how to contact the building division for habitability and property-maintenance complaints. "Feedback like that is going to be exceptionally useful," the presenter said, adding that the city plans to host an OpenGov form on the home page for complaint submission and tracking.
Councilmembers also asked about integrating links to app stores for mobile reporting and recommended a concise distribution summary for community partners. Staff agreed to continue department-level content updates and to follow up on the specific user-access items raised by council.
The presentation and follow-up discussion highlighted a staff commitment to ongoing improvement: staff built a built-in feedback form on the site and asked the public to try it and provide suggestions for making services more findable.
