Council e-Services - the current state of play
In introducing CouncilView to the market, we looked at the current state of play of e-services among many of the local councils in Victoria and found things lacking in key areas.
So we thought we would list some of the few councils that have implemented Web2.0 type functionality and online e-services and give them a quick scorecard. If you know of other councils with such systems, feel free to comment below.
Bayside City Council
Bayside City Council has a section of its site called "My Local Area" which aims to engage local residents and was developed by Aussoft Solutions in 2007. It is linked prominently from the homepage menu and redirects to an "Online Maps" section.
It is not integrated well with the website, it takes users to many new windows before finally arriving at the mapserver/MyAddress page. This page can be incredibly frustrating for users. The address finder does not accept many address combinations. The map is slow to respond and clunky resembling the sort of GIS that planning officers spend years getting degrees in. Novice web users are presented with redundant technical options such as "pan" and "drag" and "zoom". You have to really know what you are looking for (such as bin times) to get the most out of this system.
While this is a good effort, there are a few issues with this system, CouncilView offers a far superior user experience with its simplified postcode/address wizard an easy to use Google Maps interface.
Shire of Yarra Ranges
The Shire of Yarra Ranges which is based on MapInfo and recently added using Intramaps software's MyControl system. As well as a general map which is reasonably usable, this is used to power an e-tool called "Find your Collection Day" which allows residents to put in their street address and returns there waste collection times with a simple map based view of their property.
However the application does not tell users other useful information, such as their local councillor, local facilities and attractions.
Ballarat City Council
Ballarat City Council has a set of useful "e-tools" which are also linked off the homepage including the "Bin Collection Calendar", "eMap" (for local attractions and "Bus Distance Calculator" for public transport inforamtion.
While these tools are quite usable, they are disparate and not presented in a single convenient screen. Additionally, while they claim to pass WAG Level A and AA accessibility requirements we were able to find basic problems with the accessibility which lead us to believe that while the rest of the website may, the e-tools themselves do not comply. It also appears as if significant expense (internally or by a contractor) has been made setting these up as custom tools, however the investment would be recouped from significant call centre savings.
While this is one of the better systems out there, CouncilView would provide all of these functions from a single usable screen, saving much time for users and simplifying their searches.
Wyndham City Council
Wyndham City Council uses Datalink's CouncilView for both its "My Local Services" and "Experience Wyndham" sections of the website and is much easier to use with a single address wizard to save the details for the user's postcode. The Google Maps integration is much more intuitive than custom built GIS style systems.
Counclusions
The Local Government market is really begging for an application that can provide an easy one-stop-shop for residents online. Few councils were found to have such systems and the few that exist were rarely done well. The potential net cost savings in call centre costs across the sector is massive. CouncilView is that solution.
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