New City Website to Launch
in December

Over the last three years, the City has been using a variety of tools to improve customer service to our customers – you, the citizenry.  Examples of this are improvements to our permitting process, simplification of our zoning code and implementation of major technology improvements as identified in our Information Technology Strategic Plan.

One of these improvements listed in the plan was the City’s Internet website – www.redmond.gov.

 

Redevelopment of the City’s website was also a high City Council priority, which was reflected in an allocation for a new site in the 2009/2010 budget.

The site currently in use was built in 2001.  While it has gone through improvements and additions over the years, it is still fundamentally running on 2001 technology.  Remember when a cell phone was just a cell phone and a PDA, which could in some cases link to your computer, was in your other pocket.  Remember when the television was for watching videos and the Intranet was for “surfing”.

Of course, all that has changed and most citizens want more from the City’s website than the time of the next City Council meeting on TV.

The City’s new website will be introduced at the December 7 City Council meeting and will go live mid-day December 8.  This site – in development since June – will have many of the features of other government sites that citizens have come to expect.

Included on the new site is a clickable calendar with all City meetings, public hearings and events open to the public.  Citizens are able to subscribe to a variety of items they are interested or be notified when information is available on a certain topic. 

The navigation of the site is also completely revamped to include much more content available from the home page with topical buttons able to send users to highly desirable content such as class registration, traffic cameras or city communications with one click.

The look of the site is also brand new.  The colors, images and layout are reminiscent of Redmond today – modern yet still proud of its roots as a small hometown.

Many of the features added were requested by residents and businesses through the needs assessment process the City conducted in 2009.  The initial budget for the new site development was set at $300,000 based on costs incurred by similar sized cities.  Through competitive bidding, the cost of the new site will be considerably lower.

Tune into the City Council meeting on RCTV (Comcast – 21/Verizon – 34) at 7:30pm or watch it stream live on www.redmond.gov. to see the new look and features of the new City of Redmond site.

Contact:  
Marta Gronlund
mgronlund@redmond.gov
425-556-2427