[Archived] Major Upgrades Added to City of Alexandria Web Site

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2004
PIO 155-04

Major Upgrades Added to City of Alexandria Web Site
Town Crier Will Announce Improvements

The City of Alexandria’s official web site has been upgraded with several new features, including a shorter Internet name, a more user-friendly home page design, an interactive mapping application, a service that allows customers to pay bills online via bank accounts, and an expanded e-mail subscription service.

City officials, including members of City Council, will announce the upgrades at a news conference on Tuesday, June 22, at 5:30 p.m., in Market Square, 301 King St.. Alexandria’s Town Crier will be on hand to proclaim the new Internet address and encourage residents to make use of the new web site features. City staff will also brief members of City Council at Council’s Tuesday night meeting.

“Alexandria has long been a leader in using information technology to improve City services, and was an early adopter among governments in the Internet arena,” said City Manager Phil Sunderland. “We are excited to offer these new features to our residents, businesses, and visitors.”

• The City’s new Internet address is alexandriava.gov. When the City’s web site was launched in 1996, its original Internet address -- ci.alexandria.va.us -- was chosen to conform to the naming convention for local governments. Since that time, many localities either never adopted a name using this convention, or have subsequently moved away from it. Alexandria’s new address is shorter, more marketable, and easier for customers to remember and repeat. Using the “dot gov” domain also emphasizes that the web site is an official government site and distinguishes it from other Alexandria sites run by third parties. Although the original name and employee e-mail addresses will continue to work, the new address will be phased in on all printed materials and fleet vehicle decals.

• The eight year old web site has been revamped with a new home page design. The improved layout was developed in-house by City staff after a critique by an outside expert and input from citizens on the Commission on Information Technology. The goal of the redesign was to make the page more visually appealing, and to make it easier for web users to find the information they seek. The new design highlights categories of services – such as housing and real estate or public safety – rather than City department names. The page also spotlights news headlines and other featured topics, as well as providing quick access to popular information and services.

• The new GIS Parcel Viewer gives web users the ability to view and print custom maps of Alexandria using a variety of information “layers.” Each layer shows a different theme, so that users can design the types of maps that meet their needs. Current layers include aerial photographs, tax parcels, address points, buildings, roads, small area plans, zoning, and Metrorail tracks and stations. Additional layers will be added regularly. Users can pan and zoom the map, as well as search for a specific parcel based on address or parcel number. The map system is also connected to the real estate assessment database, so that users can view detailed ownership and sales information for each parcel on the map. Once maps have been created, they can be printed for future use.

• The new eChecks system allows customers to pay City taxes and bills by transferring funds from their checking or savings accounts. Currently, the system supports payment of personal property taxes, real estate taxes, and parking tickets. Additional payment types will be added later this year. To make a payment, a customer simply identifies the bill to be paid and enters his or her bank routing number and account number. Funds will be transferred from the customer’s account to the City’s account within one to two days, and the payment will appear on the customer’s bank statement. Unlike payments by credit card, there is no additional cost to the customer to make an eCheck payment. The City continues to provide a variety of payment options, including online and telephone payment by any major credit card, payment in person at City Hall by cash, check, or Discover card, payment by mail by check, and payment at the City Hall drop box by check. Since eChecks became available on April 1, the system has received nearly 500 payments, totaling more than $300,000. The first customer to use eChecks was a resident of Delta Junction, Alaska, who paid a parking ticket on a rental car parked in Alexandria.

• The City’s expanded eNews You Can Use service now offers 33 categories of information, an increase from the five categories originally offered when the service debuted in 2003. eNews allows users to sign up to receive information from the City on a variety of topics. The messages, ranging from news releases and department newsletters to public meeting dockets and payment deadline reminders, will be sent directly to the subscribers’ e-mail addresses. Subscribers may also choose to have emergency messages sent to their text pagers or cell phones. Since subscribers can choose precisely which messages they wish to receive, and how to receive them, users are assured that they will not receive unwanted e-mail. There are currently more than 5,000 eNews category subscriptions.

“In addition to making it easier for our customers to access government services, these new features also help City employees do their jobs more efficiently,” said Craig Fifer, the City’s e-government manager. “We are working hard to develop many more innovative approaches to e-government in Alexandria.”

For more information, visit alexandriava.gov or call 703.838.6333, x537.

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