City’s online services keep commuters in touch

Two years ago, Conyers, Ga., began an electronic government initiative that has helped the city to cut labor costs, streamline operations and better serve its residents’ needs. As technology has improved, the city has been able to expand the number of services it can offer online.

Because Conyers is only 25 miles east of Atlanta, 65 percent of its 8,000 residents commute to the city every weekday. With so many residents out of town during regular business hours, Conyers officials began to think of ways to help residents access services that are normally available only by visiting City Hall.

In 1999, city officials decided to use the Internet to offer services online and to extend the times that residents could access government information. Conyers contracted with Columbia, S.C.-based VC3’s GovHost.com to allow residents to pay bills, access real-time information and request services on the city’s Web site.

First, the city created a network to connect off-site offices and computer systems throughout city departments. Next, the city created a Web-based help desk system to route residents directly to the appropriate department and thereby speed response times.

In January 2000, the city launched its Web site, which allowed residents to request services, pay property taxes and research a community calendar of events online. Since then, modules that allow users to pay bills, request city council minutes, search for business licenses, download forms and browse job listings have been added.

With the addition of its most recent module in January, Conyers became the first city in Georgia to have its police department post incident and accident reports on the Web. Police officers use laptops to upload the reports to the city Web site, making the reports available for people involved in accidents and their insurance companies.

Conyers is planning to add more modules to its Web site in late 2001, including:

• Online interactive resident surveys to determine how the city can better serve its constituents;

• A permitting module that will allow people to request everything from garage sale permits to building permits;

• A citation module, which will allow for electronic payment of any fine that does not require a court appearance; and

• A module that will allow ticket purchases and event booking at the city-owned Georgia International Horse Park.

• The city has had only a few problems implementing its online services, and those have arisen mainly when moving legacy data to the Web. For instance, the online government services company had to design a new computer system in the police department so police reports could be added to the Web site for public access. Overall, by offering online government services, Conyers has seen an increase in customer service, a redirection of city employees into more productive tasks and a decrease in paperwork.

  For more information, visit Conyers’ Web site at www.conyersga.com.