Revamped County Web Site to Show Live Meetings

Prince William's Communications Makeover Includes Updating the Automated Telephone System

An effect of Prince William County's tougher stand on illegal immigration has been unprecedented civic involvement. Residents have shown up en masse to address the Board of County Supervisors, many for the first time.

Now, for those who want to continue their newfound interest in local government and for civic junkies, the county is about to undergo a public communications overhaul.

The upgrade starts with a redesign of the county's Web site, which was last changed in late 2003, an eon ago in the world of technology.

More than 60 percent of people who responded to an online survey said they had trouble finding information on the site; 32 percent said they found it difficult to use.

County staff members began an in-house redesign in fall, and the site went live yesterday.

"I will never say the redesign is complete," Nicole P. Brown, the county's public information specialist, told supervisors Tuesday. "We can't do this and say we're done. It needs to continuously evolve. That's the nature of the Internet."

Come June, people will be able to watch board meetings live online via streaming video. For anyone outside the reach of the county's four-year-old government-access channel, an audio version of the board's meetings is all that had been available online.

Like the audio version, videos of meetings and programs will be archived.

The streaming video will be provided by Granicus, which offers the service to several local and state governments, including Arlington and Loudoun counties and the city of Alexandria.

The video will debut June 17. The initial cost to the county will be about $23,000. Afterward, the $1,000 monthly cost will come from cable capital grant funds.

One of the perks of the Web site, for those who can't get enough of local government, will be the ability to search archived meetings by agenda item.

The county also is updating its 24-hour automated telephone system. When the system was launched, the county handled about 6,000 calls a month. The number of calls declined with the rise of the Internet. Now, the county receives about 1,000 calls a month.

In response, Prince William recently transferred the 15 most-frequently-used messages -- on issues such as fire and rescue incidents, mosquito control and voter registration -- to voice mail.