Township Overhauls 12-Year-Old Website

It’s been more than a decade since the launched its own website.

In computer years that translates roughly to … dead.

John Polkiewicz, the township’s management information systems coordinator, said the initial design for the website was created way back in 1999 by Randy Abindin, who served on the telecommunications and technology committee.

Abindin did a great job, especially since he was doing it as a volunteer, Polkiewicz said, but after a while the township started getting complaints.

“We did get quite a few complaints about the original website not being easy to navigate … It was mostly an issue of trying to find the right documents,” Polkiewicz said. “It became an issue for many residents.”

Consequently, ease of use was at the top of the township’s list of concerns when it began discussing a redesign three years ago.

Polkiewicz said the new site—launched Aug. 1—is much more streamlined, much cleaner, than the old.

One of the site’s most prominent new features is the FAQs (frequently asked questions). By clicking on the “Community Alerts” link on the right-hand side of the homepage, residents will find a “Citizen Self Help Knowledge Base” where they can get the answers to a multitude of queries, like the town’s trash pick-up schedule or what’s in the code book.

For instance, click on the drop-down menu and go to “finance” and you can find the average residential assessment ($534,100), click on “assessment” and find out when you can appeal your property tax assessment (between Feb. 1 and April 1), or click on “public works” and see how to report a dead deer.

“As the website progresses, we’ll continue to add to that,” said Polkiewicz.

The township’s also hoping to roll out another ambitious feature down the line that would allow residents to submit questions or report certain incidents via the website and track the progress of their submission.

Polkiewicz provided the following example: A resident spots a pothole, fills out an online form that gets automatically routed to public works, and then the resident receives email alerts through every step of the process until it’s resolved.

Eventually, he said, they’d like to be able to provide the service through smartphone applications. But these features are a year or more away.

“The reason we haven’t rolled that out is there’s a lot of back-end work that needs to be done,” Polkiewicz said. “We have to have training on this feature.”

On the plus side, new features and updates like the reporting system are included in the total package, which cost the township $17,500, relatively cheap for the scope of what they’re getting, he said.

The redesign was handled by QScend technologies.

One of the only downsides of the new site is the township wasn’t able to carry over email addresses for residents who were signed up for the newsletter, he said. They’ll have to sign back up. That’s also located on the right side of the homepage.

“So far, honestly, everything’s been positive,” Polkiewicz said of the initial feedback to the website, before noting there has been one complaint related to the banner photo at the top of the homepage, which prominently displays a particular Main Street business.

“That was not done intentionally,” he said, suggesting going forward they’re going to cull pictures from various archives and try to have them rotate with the season.

Polkieiwicz also noted the township’s various recreation programs are linked to on the website and residents now have the ability to register online using their credit card. Just click on “Parks and Recreation” under “Government & Services” on the right side of the page and follow the links.

Any questions, complaints or concerns can be directed to Polkiewicz at webmaster@moorestown.nj.us.