Orange County NC Website
i <br /> Commissioners ' office directly or contact the department directors since their contact <br /> information is easily obtainable by the public . He noted that there are no formal <br /> policies around response time currently in place . <br /> Pratt asked if someone could type in their question and direct it to someone with <br /> knowledge of the County " s operation who could then forward the question to the <br /> correct person or department , rather than having to get on the phone and be <br /> bounced around between several departments to find out the answer to their <br /> question . Jones said Wake County has a call center where they have staff people <br /> taking calls and determining how to direct the call . Pratt suggested having <br /> intelligence built into the program reading the emails that automatically directs the <br /> person to the appropriate department . Jones said the IT Department will try to <br /> identify the most frequent questions received by each department and then build the <br /> search engines to respond accordingly . The IT Department will analyze the search <br /> results to follow the path of inquiries received and determine whether they were <br /> successful in their search for information . <br /> Whisnant asked questions about the current software in place to analyze citizen use <br /> of the county website . He added that it is helpful to see how people are directed to <br /> a particular site . He asked what would it take to get on the front page of the County <br /> website , such as " New and Emerging Issues " where the CfE could get the SOE <br /> Report highlighted for a period of time . Jones said there is a lot of competition for <br /> space on the front page ; there is no formal process for that space . The new website <br /> will have a " clean look " on the front page with different search mechanisms and <br /> possibly with a banner of breaking news of new accomplishments within the County . <br /> Whisnant asked that if we had a page devoted to the CfE , could it include a simple <br /> form that a citizen could enter a question and email to staff, the CfE Chair or a <br /> volunteer . Jones said yes , it could be linked to an email address or series of <br /> addresses , or a form based communication to prevent the harvesting of email <br /> address by unwanted sources . Stancil added that the current CfE page identifies <br /> Beth Young , ERCD staff person and web site coordinator . He noted that the ERCD <br /> receives very few questions or emails regarding the information on the website . <br /> Jones also suggested piggybacking with entities such as Eno River Association ' s <br /> public outreach on common projects worked on by the CfE . Stancil added that we <br /> do link to TLC and appropriate sites . Jones advised to think about a situation where <br /> organizations might request links to their sites through the CfE site . Whisnant noted <br /> a study report in Popular Government on this subject . <br /> Wachholz asked about the budget for promotions . Jones said that IT department <br /> has no funds budgeted for promotions , but would be working with advocacy groups <br /> such as chambers of commerce to promote our websites . Jones said one of the <br /> goals is to make sure that any citizen or business that has an interest in Orange <br /> County understands that there is a lot of useful information that they can get to <br /> quickly on the County ' s website . Shaw asked if there would be public <br /> announcements when the new website goes online . Jones said they would . <br /> Page 3 of 5 <br /> DRAFT January 12 , 2004 <br />