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<br />� l.ocal officials and technology
<br />' experts wi th experience planning, and government generally, by
<br />building ar�d maintaining effective Web . storm. Although some jurisdictions
<br />`.ites offer the following advice for plan- make their GIS maps available to the
<br />.iers: general public over the Web, most home
<br />� Market your site — Promotion can start PCs and browser software can't efficient
<br />as simply as adding the site's Web address ly handle the electronic files, which are
<br />to tax bills or sticking it on trash recepta- many tlmes larger and more complex
<br />cles. than the average Web page. Whats
<br />m Design a site that is easy for the public more, the "bandwzdth" of the pipeline
<br />to move axouz�d in, which usuallp means _ between the Web site's servers and the
<br />following the "three-dick rule": no page �onsunter's PC is often too "narrow" to
<br />should take more thau three n�ouse clicics ` handle GIS.
<br />eo reacli. Until the digital divide shrinks and
<br />a Look for software that makes it easy far high-speed broadband networking
<br />non-technical staff to publish standard becomes mare widely available, espe-
<br />offiee dacuments to the site. Odierwise, it cially in rural areas, the GTS experience
<br />will be taa cime-consuming to keep timely will be almost intolerably slow on the
<br />informaaon up on the site. Web. �his is changing, however, as com-
<br />• IZeep information fresh. `°IFyour site's panies such as computer-aided design
<br />not current, forget about it — people will (CAD) vendor Autodesk Inc. and others
<br />not come back," warns Kisn 1'atrick Kobza, •. telease software that creates Gi5 files
<br />CEO of Web software vendor Neighbor- express�y to run oz� Web browsers.
<br />hood America. "The idea is Eo create a Live video — even tlle "streaming"
<br />communiry of interest, and you won't have ` jrind that can be fed in bursts over the
<br />communiry of interest if you don t have
<br />narrow dial-up pipelines of the Internet
<br />urrency." For example, if you're going to
<br />�e posting meeting nocices; agendas; and —�ay not be feasible for most localities
<br />ininutes, it is essential that you keep thezn because of the complexity of setting up a
<br />up-to-date. live, Web-connected video feed. But
<br />' some city halls make videos available
<br />e Budgee adequate resources. In order to
<br />have a usefui site, with fresh informaiion .' ��stead in digitized files thaE wor�r some-
<br />: you'li need, to atlocate sufficient staff hme what likes videotapes far replay an pop-
<br />and budget dol€ars. Deve(op a realistic ular, downloadable-for-free programs
<br />game plan for your Web site, �rrith ade- such as Windows Media Player and
<br />quate resources, before you Iaunch the site RealOne Player.
<br />VENDORS, ASSOCIATIONS
<br />-- PROMOTE AFFORDABILITX
<br />. A small handful of companies have
<br />sprung up to make it easy for govern-
<br />' - ments with modest budgets to set up
<br />and maintain rich, interactive Web sites.
<br />Neighborhood America Inc. (Naples,
<br />FL), for example, says it has outfitted 70
<br />� localities nationally w'tth its Public
<br />Communications Systetn. The company
<br />� built the Imagine NY Web site that was
<br />used to manage public communications
<br />. -- .• for the contest to design the fotrner site
<br />,.
<br />of the Woxld Trade Center: <wwwima
<br />,.. , ._. �. " . .
<br />ginenewyork.org> According to compa-
<br />:. ny president and CEO Kim Patrick
<br />Kobza, another customer, M��regzon.�rg,
<br />• PLANN�NG 'COtvitvilSSIOIVERS
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<br />17zis cot72ma�tiity tedz center; irt Bi.�r�li��gtori,
<br />Uennonr's "Oic� North End," ofjers cornp�tter nnd
<br />Iiiteniet trniiling.
<br />a comprehensive planning site for seven
<br />central Florida counties and nine other
<br />public and private organizatzons, says it
<br />saved $85,0�0 on printing, shipping,
<br />and labor.
<br />CivicPlus (Manhattan, KS), gears its
<br />Web system to small municipalities,
<br />counties, and chambers of commerce,
<br />according to CEO Ward Morgan. The
<br />typical small city can have a site for a
<br />$800 setup cast, pius $50 a month
<br />thereafter. "We eliminate ehe need for a
<br />Web master," says Morgan. We}� site
<br />devetopment firms, as well as architec-
<br />tural and other design consultanes, are
<br />another common source of assistance.
<br />Other steps are being taken to help
<br />small municipalities afford not only the
<br />costs of designing and setting up Web
<br />sites, but the more oneraus demands of
<br />keeping their content current. Banding
<br />Cogether for economies of scale and
<br />group purchasing through regional
<br />planning commissions and otber associ-
<br />ations zs one promising solution. The
<br />National Association of Counties, for
<br />example, partnered with the National
<br />League of Cities and IBM Corp. to create
<br />Totally Web Government, a suite of e-
<br />government programs that are run ar►d
<br />maintained on centrally loeated servexs,
<br />saving customers the k�assles of buying
<br />their o��n equipment and soft��are.
<br />JOURNAL / NUMBER 51 / SUtv1MER 2003
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