Castle Rock, Colorado wanted to gather community opinions and ideas from citizens about its planned Philip S. Miller Park. Using a combination of in-person meetings and CivicPlus' Community Voice citizen-sourcing tool on its website, the City was able to promote constructive conversation and gather useful feedback about prospective uses for the park.
“Community Voice fits our entire online philosophy, which is to reach people in the manner they prefer to be reached. We’re never going to go completely online. We’ll always have residents who prefer to go to in-person meetings. But this is another tool in our toolbox to reach people on their terms and get them to engage with us.”
— Kristin Accola, Castle Rock's Management Analyst
West Metro Fire Rescue serves more than 247,000 people in a 110 square-mile area near Denver, Colo. Job openings are rare, as the firefighter application process occurs only once every two years. Thousands of people apply and it's not uncommon for up to 1,000 people wait outside the administrative office to apply. By switching to the CivicPlus Government Content Management System to manage its website, West Metro Fire Rescue streamlined the application process with the Online Job Application tool and implemented a website that is easy to update and use.
“The functionality CivicPlus built into its system allows me to make updates from my phone or laptop from anywhere and have it go live on our website immediately.”
— Michelle French, Communications and Media Relations Specialist for the West Metro Fire Protection District
In March 2011, Maui County, Hawaii, braced for giant tsunami waves moving toward the island after an earthquake off the coast of Japan. County officials used the CivicPlus Alert Center to notify residents via digital media. The notification was posted on the website and social media, while email and text message alerts were sent to Maui County Notify Me subscribers. Around 4,300 people were instantly notified about the impending tsunami.
“The ease of posting a message one time to reach an extended audience (public, partner agencies and media) via multiple methods (website, social media, email, text) has increased the Civil Defense Agency’s efficiency and effectiveness in getting prompt, consistent and accurate messages out in times of emergency.”
— Anna Foust, emergency management office for the Maui Civil Defense Agency
Cranberry Township, Penn., was developing a comprehensive community plan with a 25-year outlook that focused on sustainability. CivicPlus took into account Cranberry Township's sustainability goals while designing the new website, www.cranberrytownship.org, and focused on ways to reduce negative impacts on the environment, reduce energy use and save money. The new website brought to life the town's commitment to sustainability through increased digital community engagement.
“We get a large number of hits on our website every day. Having sustainability in mind with our new website design is providing ongoing opportunities for residents to be part of the solution, by building awareness through education and by using the online services. The website is an important tool in our arsenal to advance the community’s number one priority, which is a sustainable future.”
— John Trant, Chief Strategic Planning Officer
