Being a Citizen in Athens is Getting Easier

by Evelyn Henley
For The Post

The city of Athens is changing its Web site in hopes of getting more citizens involved in city government.

These changes come after the Web site (http://ci.athens.oh.us) won an online award.

The site was awarded the Golden Web Site award from the International Association of Web Designers for excellence in design and content. The award recognizes the excellence of the site's design and information, said Jill Bateman, media coordinator and Webmaster.

The city's goal for the Web site is to make it easier to be an involved citizen in Athens, she said.

"I think the Web site we started five years ago was intended to enhance communication with the citizens," Mayor Ric Abel said.

Citizens' level of involvement is a key concern for designers of the site.

"There is a movement in the government to make services more available and convenient for the people," Bateman said. "It will also lower the cost of government by negating a lot of the paperwork."

In the future, Bateman said she hopes residents will be able to pay for city services and traffic tickets online.

The Web site has many other resources for citizens who want to become more involved in their local government.

"There is even a section that explains how to get involved," Bateman said. "There are instructions for writing letters and speaking at council meetings."

The Web site will continue to grow with many more services being added.

"We came up with a laundry list of goals for things we would like to do on the Web site," Abel said. "I think it shows that the city is trying to stay up with the times."

These changes will begin soon, Bateman said. She said she wants to start an archive, including tapes of council meetings and press conferences, this month.

"E-government will take a little longer," she said.

The Web site has grown considerably since the beginning of the year, said Scott Thompson, program director for the government channel. From July to December last year, the site had an average of 6,000 hits each month. Last month, it had 16,275 hits.

"We seem to be having a lot more visitors," Thompson said. "We are excited to provide that service to the public.