The city of Milton recently launched a new website last month which will allow for more community interaction with residents.
City Manager Brian Watkins said the municipality was in need of a new website.
“It just needed to be done, our website had not been revamped in years,” Watkins said. “The worse thing about it was that (city’s website) was not mobile friendly.”
The current website allow users to better utilize the webpage on tablet devices and smart phones.
Watkins said the new website was developed by Civic Plus, a national company which creates websites for municipalities and government entities.
The updated website, miltonfl.gov, now allows for additional capacity when storing council meeting agendas and minutes for public access.
“(The old website) had very limited space, it had limited capability and we couldn’t modify it ourselves,” Watkins said.
Part of the upgraded website will allow website administrator, including Watkins, to make changes themselves without the need of contacting another party.
“Most of the (website) modification stuff, we can do ourselves,” Watkins said.
Like the previous website, the city’s new web page will continue to allow customers to pay utility bills online. However there are some new features on the new page.
One of the new website features the community and event calendars will give residents the ability to see what is happening within city limits.
Not only will the calendars allow local organizations to place community events on the city’s webpage, it will also allow organizations to find the best date for a particular event.
“It could help by spreading (the events) out, so they are not on top of each other,” Watkins said.
The website will also be able to notify residents of city-related job openings, project proposals, upcoming meetings, meeting agendas, announcements, along with weather and traffic alerts.
In addition to accessing minutes from city meetings and upcoming meeting agendas, citizens will also be able to listen to the audio of previously recorded council meetings.
As an example should a resident chose to submit their email address to the ‘Notify Me’ section, users could receive an updated agenda, should it be changed by staff online.
Citizens will also be able to share their ideas with city staff by selecting the ‘Community Voice’ section by selecting the ‘Let us know’ tab in the left hand column on the website’s home page.
Residents can share the ideas with city staff in several different categories such as ‘Community Activity Ideas,’ ‘Infrastructure & Environment Improvements’ or ‘Economic Development Ideas.’
Citizens who already receive waste retrieval services from the city will also be able to register online for the city’s recycling services.
Watkins said the city is currently in the process of sending out letters to all citizens regarding information on the recycling option.
Recycling bins have already been ordered by the city. Once residents chose to register for the service the recycle bins will be dispersed. Watkins said city officials are still working on retrieval route. Currently Watkins estimates recycling pick up will take place on Wednesdays of each week.
Once the recycling operation is up and running, recyclables will be taken to the transfer station near the county landfill located south of Bagdad, Watkins said.
ONLINE:
Visit the new City of Milton website at www.ci.milton.fl.us.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: MiltonÂ’s new website offers interaction with community