New Ways of Communicating to the Public

Mike AscherBob Fernandez

Brief look at West Des Moines

• Suburb of Des Moines, Iowa• Current Population of 57,909 with a Daytime population of

126,415• Median Population Age of 33• Current Area is 47.3 Sq. Miles• Over 700 miles of streets• Over 48 miles of trails

When did we realize we needed new forms of communication with the public?

• The Statewide news paper created a web based application to map potholes throughout the Des Moines metro– Likes• Easy to use• Mapped data

– Dislikes• Was on the front page of there Website• After work was done there wasn’t a follow up process• Only tracked potholes

Benefits from a citizen request application

• New way to engage and improve communication with our population– More and more people are getting mobile devices

• More transparent Government– All requests are visible and track able

• Have information more real-time– Data is updated every time a change is made to the request

• Save on Staff Time– Don’t have to log information– Direct them to a our Website or app– Changing or Creating workflows to have data streamlined

YourGOV

• Cartegraph Product– ESRI partner– City utilizes other cartegraph software to track

resources, maintain asset inventories, and manage workflows

• Ties data in with our current cartegraph database• Can be accessed via the web or mobile device• Information is accessible in Arcmap and

Cartegraph

Input a new sign request in YourGOV via the web

http://yourgov.wdm-ia.com/YourGOV/YourGOV.aspx

Input a new sign request in YourGOV via the web

Input a new sign request in YourGOV via the web

View of the submitted sign request in YourGOV via the web

View of the submitted sign request inArcmap

View of the submitted sign request in Cartegraph

View of a closed sign request in YourGOV via the web

YourGOV via Mobile Device

YourGOV via Mobile Device

Street Repair Request via Mobile Device

Street Repair Request via Mobile Device

Street Repair Request via Mobile Device

Street Repair Request via Mobile Device

Street Repair Request via Mobile Device

Street Repair Request via Mobile Device

Viewing Request while in the field

• West Des Moines is currently able to access Arcmap and Cartegraph using Netmotion.

• Utilize GPS toolbar in Arcmap– Use a usb gps unit

• The city plans to make improvements in their workflow for field crews.

Current Stats since implementation in June 2012

• There have been 182 requests submitted using YourGOV– 2 Construction– 9 Drainage– 50 other– 2 Sanitary Sewer– 4 Snow & Ice– 14 Street Light Outages– 65 Street Repairs– 15 Street Sign– 19 Traffic Signals– 2 Tree Limbs or Shrubs

Current Stats since implementation in June 2012

• Priority of the Requests– 4 High Priority – 23 Moderate Priority– 155 Low Priority

• Average Length of time to full-fill or close a request was – 3.18 Days

• Longest/Shortest Request– Longest was 72 days to replace broken street sign– Shortest was 30 min to notify Mid American of a streetlight

outage

The future of YourGOV at the City

• Internal Training on Observe and Reporting Initiative– Report issues before they become bigger problems

• Charcoal B-B-Q grills on apartment Decks• A new fence or building within the “vision triangle”• Mud or debris in the street from construction • Sump Pumps draining across sidewalks• Downed trees/hanging limbs in parks• Etc.

– YourGOV primary tool for initiative

The future of YourGOV at the City

• City sees benefits and wants to encourage citizens to use it more

• Promote the YourGOV app– Publish articles in WDM Magazine– Show a segment about YourGOV on the city’s

cable channel– Create YourGOV signs and place them in strategic

areas of West Des Moines