Internet use soars for cities

Municipalities in Georgia are going online to provide services, advertise assets

Web posted December 18, 1999

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By Brian Lawson
Thomson South Georgia Newspapers

From Acworth to Atlanta, Sugar Hill to Savannah, local governments throughout Georgia are annexing new territory on the Internet.

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Features range from proud photos of the county courthouse to updated information about local codes and ordinances. There are council-member phone numbers and archives of meeting minutes, e-mail addresses for department heads and zoning maps.

Sixty-seven Georgia cities reported they have developed a municipal Web site, according to a recent survey by the Georgia Municipal Association. That compares with only 27 cities in 1997.

Hahira Mayor John Adams is Webmaster for the south Georgia community's Internet site.

``I began it as kind of a learning experience for me and as an information medium for the city,'' he said. ``I get e-mail practically every day from people asking questions about the community, or from former residents hoping to look somebody up.''

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The site, which Mr. Adams said involves weekly updates and about three hours work per week, also provides council-meeting minutes, a link to the local historical society, forms for building permits and zoning applications.

Refinements to the site have been the result of conversations with area residents and e-mails, as well as researching other Web pages.

Of the 367 cities responding to the survey, 128 reported elected officials and/or key city employees have e-mail access, up from 47 two years ago.

The municipal association reports municipal employees in 156 cities have Internet access at work, an increase of more than 100 cities since 1997.

Many cities are hamstrung by the tight job market for information technology professionals. The going rate for such work is well beyond many city budgets.

Georgia's counties also are expanding into cyberspace, with DeKalb County leading the way. The metro Atlanta county recently has made it possible for residents to pay property taxes and research deed information at its Web site. Deed records online are still limited, but people already have started paying taxes and copying tax bills from the site.

``We've had 100 to 150 people who have paid online,'' said Robert Goodman, DeKalb's manager of property records.

``There are some limitations; you can't pay with a credit card,'' Mr. Goodman said. ``The transaction fees would be passed on to the taxpayers. But the system is working really well. There are fewer phone calls, and people don't have to wait in line.''

The interactive features on DeKalb's Web site were developed by EZGOV.COM, an Atlanta-based company focused on providing more government resources on the Internet.

``A lot of governments in Georgia are at stage one, providing basic information on their sites,'' said Robbie Kamerschen, vice president of government affairs for EZGOV. ``We're interested in moving them to a stage two, application-based Web site that allows citizens to transact business online.''

Possibilities for future growth on government Web sites include drivers license renewal, tag renewal, utility payments, vehicle citation payments and professional licensing.