7-3-12     The City of Willmar has launched a new website.   It can be found at www.willmarmn.gov.    City Administrator Charlene Stevens says the site has been dramatically redesigned entirely created by the City’s in-house development team, and shows the commitment of the City to be citizen-focused.  Stevens says the goal of the new site is to better inform residents and others about what’s going on in the community, offer an easy way to find information for all, and improve customer service.    The prior site was created by one person in 2001 and had not been significantly changed since 2003.  Information Systems Coordinator Mark Boeschen (BESH-in) says “Our old website was great when it was made.  It still provided information to citizens, but was rapidly becoming visually outdated and very difficult to develop new, interactive features, which the public demands.  This new site provides a great foundation for these new features and a chance for us to look at how we do business and how citizens get information.”   Site features include:

• Fast access to content
• RSS event and news feeds
• New, modern layout
• Updated search engine
• Issue reporting service
• Integrated event calendar

Stevens says they also recognize websites are not made to be static and there are already planned new interactive features.  Facebook and Twitter accounts, Android and iPhone apps, and online payments are some of the planned future elements.   Videos of past City Council meetings are available, and people will be able to make various payments online.     (KWLM)