New Township Website Planned

The township is getting a new website that will be easier to navigate and allow officials to better monitor service requests from residents online, Township Manager William Broughton said.

Delaware-based Civic-Logic will develop the new website, which should be completed in about 3 – 4 months, Broughton said.  The vendor was selected after officials reviewed the work of other website companies.

"In finally getting to this vendor, we looked at over 500 different websites," Broughton said in a presentation to the Township Council.

In addition to cosmetic changes, including a more user-friendly design, the planned site will improve the municipal service request system. With the current site, residents fill out an online form that sends an e-mail request to township officials.

"We have a lot of issues that we need to track," Broughton said. "Right now, we're merely tracking those issues by e-mail."

Broughton said the new system would allow him to better manage pending requests.  If a request is not dealt with, the new system can automatically escalate the issue to another official. Residents will receive an automatic response after submitting the request.   Reports can be run to check on the status of various pending assignments.

Efforts are also underway to allow residents to pay their taxes online, Broughton said.  It is likely the feature would be launched before the new website.  The online tax payments will come with a 2.9 percent fee for credit card processing. 

In choosing the new website vendor, officials defined a set of requirements including cost, features and technical support options.  Other sites were reviewed and grouped in categories based on the features they offered.

Civic-Logic will charge the township $12,000 initially with $1,500 in annual maintenance fees and free software upgrades.  Unlike the current site, the vendor will provide training and technical support.  The township's second choice would have charged $5,000 in annual fees, Broughton said.

Councilman Elie Katz said he regularly heard from residents asking about the website.

"I'm sure we'll be able to develop a sleek design with this vendor," Broughton said.

The presentation delivered to council on the new website is attached to this article. The presentation was provided by the Township Manager's Office.