Writer's Block

Reviewing government web sites

A friend at the county asked me what I thought about the county's redesigned web site.

My only complaint was really a quibble: it seemed that it often took a lot of "clicks" to reach my destination. For example, if I wanted to see the agenda for this month's Police Commission meeting, I'd have to click on the County Calendar, click on Police Commission, click on "more information," then click on the agenda, to download a PDF of the document. Why do we need to go to the "more information" page? The only "more information" posted besides the agenda link is the name, date and location of the event -- all information that's on the agenda itself. You could save a click by putting the link to the agenda under the original calendar listing.

Sure, it's a small annoyance -- a tiny one, really -- but for anyone who spends a lot of time tracking county meetings, those clicks add up.

But overall, having spent a fair amount of time wandering the web sites of various government agencies, I think the county has a pretty good one. It's well organized, making it simple to find the department you're looking for. It's pretty. I like having the County Calendar feature and latest press releases right there on the front page. And it offers some neat online services, including places where you can access property tax and building permit data, tax maps you can download, and a searchable database of land and permit information -- my favorite tool.

And I'm happy to report that the county's web site has what I consider the most fundamental requirement for any government site: basic contact information for all departments. Last week I was trying to contact an agency that shall remain nameless, and turned to the agency's web site to find a phone number for the director, public information officer or anybody with a pulse who could talk to me. Nada. No phone numbers. No e-mail. Just the department's mailing address and an online comment form you could send out into the ether. A reporter might be determined and resourceful enough to track down the number somewhere else. But to the average member of the public, the web site seemed to be saying: "Don't call us. We'll call you."