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27 <br />Public Commentary via i ecnnoiogy: <br />Orange County should capitalize on its web presence to allow for public commentary and feedback on <br />County services, pressing issues, and other matters involving County tax dollars. Currently, the County <br />uses Survey Monkey for online surveying and this effort should be expanded. In addition, concepts <br />such as mobile service requests with GPS tagging should be considered as a mechanism for citizen <br />engagement. Finally, the County should leverage its web presence and suggested social media <br />presence to develop additional feedback channels for citizens, including online public comment about <br />proposed ordinance or policy changes. <br />Increased Access to Broadband and Cellular Services- <br />The County is not able to actively improve the broadband connectivity offerings across Orange <br />County, nor would such an effort be part of the County IT department work. However, the County <br />Commissioners, management team, and CIO are encouraged to work with the North Carolina <br />Association of County Commissioners to help pass legislation allowing counties to incentivize private <br />build -out of such connectivity or to develop public - private partnerships to address the issues in <br />coverage. Other efforts, such as Gig.U, should also be followed and explored to determine if those <br />efforts hold potential for expanding and incentivizing broadband deployment by the private sector. <br />In terms of cellular coverage, the County is currently investigating building cellular towers for the <br />public safety needs of the County. If this effort is undertaken, it is advised that the County utilize <br />those assets as lease options for cellular providers (or wireless Internet providers) as a means of <br />revenue generation and expanded coverage /offerings. <br />Mobile Applications: <br />The County IT Department should continue its excellent work in the delivery of online services by <br />offering additional County mobile applications. First, the County should create a mobile app of the <br />County website. Other possible mobile applications include a permitting and inspections application, <br />complete with QR codes, animal shelter applications related to lost and found pets, and GIS -based <br />applications offering information about governmental services surrounding a particular address. <br />Real -Time GIS: <br />Several County departments noted the need for citizens and staff to have real -time GIS available. <br />Currently, the Register of Deeds data is not uploaded on a daily basis to allow such real -time access to <br />deeds, so the County should work closely with the Register to determine how to facilitate the <br />integration of their data in near -time in order to accomplish this request. The County IT department <br />does not manage the Register of Deeds data so County management should be involved in the <br />process to determine how to achieve this important request. <br />25 <br />