HomeMy WebLinkAbout11. City Website Upgrade
AGENDA MEMO
DATE:
March 23, 2009
TO:
Mayor and City Council Members
FROM:
Office of the City Manager
By: Brian Saeki, Director of Community Development
DEMONSTRATION AND PREVIEW OF THE CITY OF DOWNEY
SUBJECT:
WEBSITE UPGRADE
RECOMMENDATION
Staff members recommend that City Council receive and file this administrative report.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Economic Development Division staff members have been working with the ad hoc
Website Subcommittee toward the objective of updating and upgrading the City of
Downey (“City”) website. After receiving direction from the Website Subcommittee, staff
conducted a request-for-proposal process and awarded a professional services contract
to Civica Software Incorporated.
After contracting with Civica, staff members received additional direction from the
Website Subcommittee and have worked with all city departments and divisions to
begin developing a new website presence for downeyca.org. Staff members are nearing
completion of this upgrade project and are preparing to launch the new website. This
administrative report provides a preview and demonstration of the new City of Downey
website. The website upgrade project had several key objectives for the project and
each is briefly listed and discussed below.
Redesign and Consolidate
– The new downeyca.org website used the official City
colors to create a new homepage and department pages. The new graphics are
consistent across the entire website. Previously, the City had more than five different
websites associated with the City and the redesign and subsequent launch of the new
website will consolidate all within downeyca.org. The new website represents a new and
more professional presence on the Internet that better markets the City.
Decentralize Management and Maintenance
– Part of the contract with Civica
Software was for a content management system. This system allows all departments
and divisions to manage their own Internet content and develop and expand
department/division web pages on an ongoing basis. This management function is done
via a secure connection to the Internet. This allows departments to be responsible for
and control their own website content. The Civica contract also provides that the
downeyca.org website is hosted, backed-up, and supported via an offsite location.
CITY OF DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA
Create a Scalable Website
– The new website has been built with software and
programming that will allow the City to add new functionality to the website in a very
cost-effective manner. In the future, the City can add online transaction processing for
payment of City fees or online registration for recreation classes and lessons.
Integrate Existing Online Programs/Applications
– The new downeyca.org website
incorporates several existing and important online programs, e.g. resident service
requests, online job applications, and video streaming services. These programs are
provided by third party vendors and each has been seamlessly folded into the new City
website.
New Programs/Applications
– The new downeyca.org website provides several new
programs to better serve Downey residents and businesses. These programs include:
a merged online City calendar that is available and easily updated by all departments;
automatic and dynamic changes allowing most-visited pages to be readily accessible;
e-Notify, which allows residents to be notified of upcoming meetings and events; and an
enhanced tracking and reporting system.
FISCAL IMPACT
This action does not have a fiscal impact on the City budget.
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