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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br /> Date: August 20, 2012 <br /> Item No.: 10.b <br />Department Approval City Manager Approval <br />Item Description: Proposal to Redesign the City’s Website <br />B <br />ACKGROUND <br />1 <br />This spring the Council adopted a Community Aspiration to be Engaged in Our Community's <br />2 <br />Success As Citizens, Neighbors, Volunteers, Leaders, and Businesspeople and specifically to <br />3 <br />Improve Communications with Residents. The Council also identified electronic <br />4 <br />communications as one of those avenues of communications to be improved. The City Manager <br />5 <br />then asked Communications Specialist Tim Pratt to lead the investigation of options to enhance <br />6 <br />electronic communications. One result is that the City has launched a Twitter account and a <br />7 <br />YouTube Channel. <br />8 <br />The City Manager specifically requested staff investigate online programs and mobile <br />9 <br />applications to handle citizen requests for services. Some companies offer stand alone programs <br />10 <br />and applications, while others include this level of service in either an asset management <br />11 <br />program or an enhanced website. <br />12 <br />As staff investigated the citizen request for service programs and applications it became apparent <br />13 <br />that the City needs to redesign the City’s website in order to improve citizen usability and <br />14 <br />enhance engagement. <br />15 <br />In 2007 a Website Redesign Committee of Finance Director Chris Miller, GIS Technician Joel <br />16 <br />Koepp and Mr. Pratt recommended CivicPlus to redesign and host our website. They were the <br />17 <br />lowest-priced qualified proposal. While CivicPlus brought our website out of the stone ages, it is <br />18 <br />incapable of providing additional services and features that will meet the two objectives: <br />19 <br />improve citizen usability and enhance engagement. <br />20 <br />Government website design is a specialized field with few qualified companies. In 2007 we <br />21 <br />received 13 proposals, but only three of the companies provided the services Roseville needed <br />22 <br />such as the ability to easily edit our own pages with a user friendly content management system, <br />23 <br />and modules designed for the needs of cities (e.g. agenda center, community calendar, etc.). <br />24 <br />Page 1 of 3 <br /> <br />