| COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release: January 12, 2012 For More Information: John Ivanic, (614) 645-6798 |
Columbus City Council Announces New Legislative Center Website
(Columbus)--The Columbus City Council is pleased to announce a new website that will increase transparency and access to government information and documents. The new Legislative Center is ready for use by the public. The site, which can be accessed from City Council’s homepage Columbuscitycouncil.org, allows anyone to access all Council produced agendas, legislative attachments, minutes, and other information in a timely, user friendly format from their computer, phone or tablet device without having to first contact City Council.
“This site is a pivotal advancement in the development of City Council’s E-Council initiative, a plan that encourages an expanded use of technology to support greater access of Council documents and services at a lower cost for City government,” said President Pro Tem A. Troy Miller, chair of the Technology Committee.
Once on the City Council’s homepage, users can find a link on the right side under the Meeting Toolkit that says Legislative Center-via InSite.
A click on that link will take users to a new page.
On the page, residents will find access to agendas for meetings, similar to what they were able to find City Council’s site in the past.
But, the new page offers greater access to the legislation itself, by giving users to the chance to view documents attached to the legislation by clicking on links in the agenda. For example, if users wanted to learn more about 2310-2011 in the Zoning Committee, a click on the legislation number will take users to the piece itself.
Notice, there are two attachments in the legislation that lead to supporting documents. Here is an example of one of the attachments.
The upgrade to the website also includes an archive of City Council agendas and legislation going back to 2003. To search the database, just enter a key word or year.
A list of legislation will appear with key words highlighted for easy reference.
President Pro Tem Miller promises to continually seek additional opportunities to work with software providers and website designers to improve and make more transparent City Council’s website.
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