New City App Will Allow Residents to Report Problems on the Fly

See a pothole? Graffiti in the park? A malfunctioning streetlight?
City of Saline residents will soon be able to download a new mobile app that will allow them to report city problems on the fly.

At the Aug. 5 meeting, council voted 7-0 to spend $8,000 ($6,000 annual fee plus $2,000 set up fee) to begin using the See-Click-Fix web-based citizen for citizen reporting.

The program is expected to be deployed with four to six weeks.

According to a memo from Chris Shonk, the city’s Technology Support Coordinator, to city council, key features include:

·         Unlimited users and reports.

·         Facebook and Twitter integration.

·         Customizable mobile app icons that can be added and removed at no cost.

·         Advertisement free software.

·         Mobile app support for Android, iPhone, iPod, Windows Phone and Blackberry.

·         Exportable databases to track issues.

According to Shonk’s memo, See-Click-Fix is used in 25,000 cities around the world.

City Councilor David Rhoads has been a proponent of the program. At the Aug. 5 meeting, Rhoads said he was glad to see the city moving forward with it.

Mayor Brian Marl said he, too, was supportive of the initiative and complimented Rhoads for bringing it to council’s attention.

“I think it provides a more constructive means for engagement of citizens,” Marl said.

City council balked at spending for a second software program. The Granicus “citizen participation” software is designed to help local government engage citizens with polls and other applications.

Council took no action on a motion to spend $6,888 to use the software. Support for the second software application was lukewarm. Councilor Dean Girbach said he thought it would be better to get the public’s buy-in on the first application before launching a second one.

Councilor Lee Bourgoin said he’d like to see a demonstration.

“My question is what kind of community participation will we receive? Will we hear from the squeaky wheels or not get a full view of the community?” Bourgoin asked.

Seeing a lack of support for the Granicus software, Rhoads decided to withdraw the motion.

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