The town of North Bergen will launch a new website this week – northbergen.org – that officials hope will make municipal services more accessible to residents.
AlphaDog Solutions, an award-winning company in Belleville, was awarded a contract for the development and maintenance of the town’s website during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The contract, for approximately $25,000, is for the period of Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012.
Residents are encouraged to sample the NB Help Desk.
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According to Township Administrator Chris Pianese, the website will provide more accessibility to residents.
“We’re excited about it,” said Pianese, who mentioned that the site has been in development since early summer. “It’s just another example of North Bergen trying to be out in front of the curve in terms of technology.”
The new features will include a “Help Desk” service, which aims to provide residents with a quick response to any questions or concerns.
Renovations
Updates to the website will allow for easier access to information, according to Pianese.
“We actually have a current events page that we’ll be updating on a biweekly basis,” he said.
He said that the town plans to have its own section for police news and updates.
“The idea is to give residents updates on situations that are happening police-related,” said Pianese, “in terms of safety tips, or crime initiatives.”
According to Pianese, the town organized a “soft launch” on Monday as a preliminary measure in order to work out any potential kinks before the actual launch.
“People will start to use it without us promoting it,” said Pianese, “so we can have our own test run internally, [to] see how it works.”
Help desk
The most noticeable change may be the physical upgrade to the website, which will include better technology. The new “NB Help Desk” will provide residents with answers to questions within 48 hours or less. Staffed during business hours, the service will simply be an online feature that allows residents to submit a question and receive an answer via e-mail.
According to Pianese, the help desk will provide answers to common questions, such as how to obtain a marriage license or building permit, or how to join a senior program.
“The idea is that there are so many layers of government and departments that the resident can often be confused,” said Pianese.
Instead of redirecting residents to another office or telephone line, the help desk will provide direct answers to questions.
“It allows for state-of-the-art interaction with the public,” added Pianese.
“With NB Help Desk, residents in need of assistance can receive it quickly and efficiently, and I’m excited to utilize this innovate tool to better serve North Bergen residents,” said Mayor Nicholas Sacco.
“North Bergen continues to be on the front line of municipal technology implementation and integration,” said Michael Melham, president of AlphaDog Solutions. “The NB Help Desk is yet another step towards increased civic engagement.”
“In reality, we’re a service-oriented organization,” said Pianese, “and the public should be able to ask a question on the internet. I know personally I tend to be the one who sends an e-mail to ask a question, as opposed to picking up a phone.”
Residents are encouraged to sample the NB Help Desk during the two-week soft launch period that began this past Monday, Oct. 3.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.