Kamloops, BC – The City of Kamloops is excited to announce the launch of its first mobile application with the new “myKamloops” app. This free app, developed by CitySourced, is intended to act as a Report A Problem channel, allowing residents to report civic issues of concern, whether it be graffiti, potholes, fallen trees, overflowing garbage cans, obscured or fallen signs, or any similar issue.

myKamloops Screenshot

While this new app does not replace the current methods of reporting a problem via the phone, email or website, it does allow people to report issues quickly and conveniently using their Smartphone, including iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and Windows Mobile. Smartphone capabilities allow for residents to report issues via a photo or video, geo-tag it, and submit it to the City very quickly. The issue is then routed to the appropriate City department for resolution.

The app can be downloaded from the Smartphone’s store or marketplace by searching for ‘myKamloops’. Additional information on this service and links to download the app can be found at www.kamloops.ca/mobileapp.

For those residents without a Smartphone, this app will be available through Facebook as well, to simplify the Report A Problem process. The City’s Facebook page is located at www.facebook.com/cityofkamloops.

Press Coverage

Kamloops Daily News

Los Angeles, CA – Adelaide City Council is expanding its range of free Apps, with ‘Adelaide Report It’ as the latest mobile phone application to be released. The new app allows users to take a photo of potholes, graffiti and other maintenance issues in the city and submit it to the Council’s Customer Service Centre – all from the convenience of their mobile phone.

CitySourced available in 4 continents!

“We’re the first Council to trial this App in Australia – and join more than 20 other major US cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and San Jose.  It shows we’re at the forefront of technology and willing to try new things for the benefit of the community.”

The app uses geo-tagging technology to automatically provide the location of the issue or incident, simplifying the reporting process for users, while increasing the reliability of the report location for the service crews. The App will then send the user confirmation that the message has been received and an update once the request has been completed.

‘Report It’ is free to download and is compatible with all smartphone’s including iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. Read more information here.

Columbia County, GA – The Columbia County Board of Commissioners is proud to announce the launching of a new smart phone application that will allow citizens to snap and submit photos, video and audio files of potholes, illegal dumping, deceased animals, and any other issues that Columbia County needs to address. During a press event on Tuesday, experts from the Columbia County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department will provide a live overview of how the system works and the EOC and 3-1-1 staff will conduct a live demonstration from the field to the 3-1-1 Center to show how fast and easy it is to report a problem.

“In government, you can’t wait for people to come to you – you need to give residents the tools to empower themselves in the most convenient way” said Commission Chairman Ron C. Cross.  “This real time mobile application will allow our citizens to identify public safety and quality of life issues and report them to the county for quick resolution.”

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“Of course, citizens will still be able to call and report problems by dialing 3-1-1 or completing the on-line submit form – but the “Citizen Reporter” option offers an easy alternative that will give responding departments an exact lat/long location and a photo that shows the scope of the problem, providing for an efficient use of resources,” said Pam Tucker, director of emergency and operations.

ABC News Cast (Click to Play)

CitySourced developed the application for use and deployment by Columbia County. The app uses geo-tagging technology to automatically provide the problem’s location, simplifying the reporting process for users.  The application is available free of charge via iTunes, Android Market, Blackberry and Windows Phone. CitySourced will be integrating into Cityworks Asset Management System, and Woolpert is the systems integrator.

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Columbia County Contacts:   Pam Tucker, 706-868-3303 and Mary Howard, 706-868-3421            

Longview, TX residents now have a more high-tech way of reporting potholes, dead animals, sewer leaks or other problems to the local overnment. Residents with smartphones can get a new mobile app called “CitySend“ to inform public works officials of their public issues. The mobile app, unveiled by Longview GIS Manager Justin Cure, allows users to take photos, record video and audio of a problem, and automatically provide GPS coordinates. After the report is submitted into the Longview’s Cityworks Work Order Management System, users can track all reported problems on a map as well.

 

The app is available for the Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows smartphones. The website, where residents can also report problems directly without a smartphone, is http://longviewtexas.gov/citysend.

“It will allow us to gain efficiency,” Assistant City Manager Chuck Ewings said. “It is a new way to communicate.”

“You can not only track the status of your report, you can look at other reports and see what the city has done to correct it,” Cure said. “And you can see reports in your neighborhood.”

For city emergencies residents will still need to call 911, but this app is giant step toward improving people’s lives.

ADDITIONAL PRESS

• CBS News Coverage
• ABC News Coverage
• Longview Texas News Journal

What does it feel like to be a municipal employee and deploy a mobile application that will engage the public? The following is a behind-the-scenes account from our deployment of the ‘Honolulu 311′ app for the City and County of Honolulu. The press, citizens, and internal municipal employees get a big a win. Take look at how the day unfolds. Note: The following is a first hand account of a CitySourced deployment as shared by City and County of Honolulu government workers. Minor corrections and adjustments have been made for publication purposes.

6:15am Live TV Debut

City and County of Honolulu CIO, Gordon Bruce, and Deputy Director, Forest Frizzell, go live on ABC News Channel 4 to introduce the Honolulu 311 app.

Honolulu IT Staff on ABC Newscast (Click to Play)

10:30am Mayor’s Press Conference

Mayor Carlisle holds press conference highlighting the City and County’s efforts to deploy CitySourced in order to better engage residents and harness technology in a transparent government setting. All three major media stations (ABC, FOX, Hawaii News Now) are in attendance to see deployment of ‘Honolulu 311′ powered by CitySourced.

Mayor Carlisle's Press Conference (Click to Play)

1:20pm Employees Rejoice

Employees share an internal kudos via email to the leadership and staff:

From: Director of Customer Service

To: Mayor; CIO; Deputy Director of IT; Press Secretary;

CC: Managing Director; Systems Analyst, Assistant Maintenance Supervisor; Planner; Complaints Investigator

Subject: CitySourced Press Conference Dear Gordon, Forest, Louise, Johnny, and Jim, After Mayor gave his press conference all three media stations came down to CSD (Department of Customer Services) to shoot footage of actual issues. We actually went out on the street and tested the CitySourced application and came back into the office to bring it up on the Complaints computer and to forward it on to the departments. During the demonstration we actually got a “real” issue reported. Interestingly enough, there were mobile reports coming in while the newscasters were here which they watched how a mobile report was handled and the process in which the staff goes through. The newscasters witnessed first-hand the difference between the phone app and the call-in report and how much time the call-in phone requires. In working with the newscasters and overhearing their conversations with their stations, they were commenting on how great a story this was and how awesome the app was since they saw it in action. Thank you to Diane who stayed with us and helped one of the newscasters go through downloading the app and walking him through it. Also, thank you to the Complaints staff, in demonstrating the process.

-Gail

1:30pm Happy Users are Happy Customers

The Deputy Director shares his praise with CitySourced about the employee and press response.

Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 1:21 PM

To: Andrew Kirk; Kurt Daradics; Brendan Piper

Cc: CIO

Subject: CitySourced Press Conference Team, Honolulu 311 is going viral. The news teams followed our Director of Customer Service down to her office and watched as her people received City Sourced complaints and logged them. The chatter was deafening. They all called back to their stations and said it’s the coolest thing they had seen. I can almost guarantee we’ll be on every news show tonight. The local Twitter world is also abuzz.

Great job,

-Forest

Deputy Director Dept. of Information Technology

Honolulu, HI

Press Generated from the Event:

ABC News Report
FOX News Report
Hawaii News Now

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(Jan. 31, 2012)— City and County of Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle today announced the launch of “Honolulu 311,” a new system through which the public may use personal smart phones to report abandoned vehicles, broken street lights, illegal dumping and other issues. CitySourced developed and launched the mobile app for Honolulu.

Carlisle also announced that three fellows from the nonprofit Code for America organization have joined the City for five weeks to help us better connect with the public.

“The Honolulu 311 system will help Honolulu become a lean, clean, smart city through the use of technology,” Carlisle said. “This is one of the goals this administration had envisioned to make city government more user-friendly.”

Besides encouraging the public to help alert City officials about ongoing issues, Honolulu 311 also allows people to submit photographs illustrating these situations, and can pinpoint their locations using smartphone GPS.

Honolulu 311 was activated today, and can be utilized by downloading the app from the app marketplace on a particular smart phone by typing in “Honolulu 311.” The app is available on iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. CitySourced developed the ‘Honolulu 311′ app in order to help the city and county increase civic engagement.

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The launch of the app comes after the City held a successful “Hackathon” conference two weeks ago. The City’s Department of Information Technology is continuing to develop some of the best applications for implementation later this year.

See a ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ account of the Honolulu 311 Public Launch

Harford County residents now have a more high-tech way of reporting potholes, dead animals, flooding or other problems to the county government. Residents with smartphones can get a new mobile app called “Harford County Connect” to inform county officials of their public issues. The mobile app, unveiled by Harford County Executive David Craig, allows users to take photos, record video and audio of a problem, and automatically provide GPS coordinates. After the report is submitted, users can track all reported problems on a map as well.

 

The app is available for the Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows smartphones. The website, where residents can also report problems directly without a smartphone, is http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/CitySourced.

“Today is another milestone in Harford County,” county spokesman Bob Thomas said. “This is another step in Harford County’s continuing effort… for open and responsive county government.“

Residents can file complaints about issues including animals, street flooding, graffiti, homeless concerns, illegal dumping, illegal burning, illegal signs, tree concerns, potholes, road debris, street light or street sign concerns, trash removal, untagged vehicles, water leak, yard waste or building code enforcement and noise complaints. The issues will primarily be handled by constituent services coordinators Jane Walker and Patricia Gonzalez before they are routed to appropriate departments.

ADDITIONAL PRESS

• Baltimore Sun
• Corridor Inc.
• The Dagger Press

SACRAMENTO, CA e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government has announced the 2011 winners of its annual Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awards.

In its 16th year, Best of the Web (BOW) recognizes outstanding government portals and websites based on innovation, functionality and efficiency. “The goal of every government website is to provide online services and information to constituents,” said Cathilea Robinett, executive director of the Center for Digital Government. Corpus Christi’s Mobile CC, powered by CitySourced, was recognized as a leader in Government-to-Citizen City Government Category. 

“However, this year’s winners have taken the power of the Web to the next level – combining clear communication, design aesthetic and easy navigation. Their foresight and leadership is creating unforeseen opportunities in government-to-citizen interaction and positioning the portal as a critical piece of public service delivery. The Center thanks them for their continuing innovation and congratulates them on their achievements!” said Robinett.