An Excellent Idea

From yesterday's "Around the Town" News:

City's new Web site ready to launch

Newburyport: Welcome to 2008. In a month or so, paying parking tickets and property taxes will get easier with an upgrade to the city's Web site.

Mark Kavanagh, the city's IT director, said he's been working on a new city site since January, and once it is put online in mid-May, residents will for the first time be able to pay tickets and tax bills online — with bill-paying ability for utilities coming soon after.

The payments will go through a third party, Metropolitan Communications, that specializes in such municipal payments systems.

It is part of an overall effort to modernize the city's "clunky" site, Kavanagh said. The site hasn't been updated since 2003, which, in tech terms, makes the city's site archaic. Beyond paying bills, Kavanagh said the site will be easier to navigate, offer more services and be formatted better.

"It's going to be clear cut, clean," he said. "It's going to be night and day."

Also, coming soon, Kavanagh said: a service that will allow residents to write in complaints — things like potholes — that will be sent along to the appropriate people and departments.

I'm predictably excited by the idea. I want to say it's about time, but I don't think Newburyport is exactly behind the times on this.

Perhaps Kavanagh could work on the Daily News' Web Site next.

I'm officially submitting my application for the position of City Web Site Blogger.

I could use a pension.

References upon request.


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