FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Casie Yoder, casie.yoder@decaturga.com, 678-553-6561
City of Decatur announces new MyDecaturGa web and mobile reporting platform
Decatur will use SeeClickFix to encourage greater civic participation, improve quality of life
Decatur, Ga. – Today the City of Decatur announced a new tool, MyDecaturGa, that allows residents, visitors and business owners to report quality-of-life issues and request services online or with their smartphones. Powered by SeeClickFix, the place-based reporting platform allows residents to document neighborhood concerns and improvements alike, ranging from graffiti and code violations to damaged sidewalks and potholes. It also features useful information such as lists of restaurants and city parks as well as links to the city’s blog, Facebook page and Twitter account.
“MyDecaturGa replaces the city’s previous reporting system, GovPartner ,” said City Manager Peggy Merriss. “The SeeClickFix interface is more robust and allows users to report concerns not only online but using the mobile app. This makes it much easier to include a photo and exact location when reporting an issue.”
Anyone can go to SeeClickFix.com to create a login and report an issue or download the free app from the Apple or Google Play stores by searching for “MyDecaturGa.” When submitting issues via mobile app, users can provide locational, descriptive, and photographic information as they see the issue in real time. Users can even create their own “watch areas” to receive notifications about all issues reported in their community, enabling them to follow the progress of all service requests, not just the ones they report. Additionally, people can view, comment on and vote to fix problems submitted by other users.
Once someone submits an issue, City of Decatur staffand anyone ‘watching’ the area will receive an alert. Then, a City of Decatur employee will acknowledge the service request, and update the request once it’s been resolved. Everyone watching an issue will be able to see each step of the process as it happens.
Currently, the list of reports that can be made are: Animal complaints, Car seat safety check request, Cemetery issues, City Facilities Maintenance issues, City trees and park maintenance request, Code violations, Feedback on staff or service, Fire Inspection Request, Graffiti, Missed sanitation collection, Out of Town house check request, Parking issues, Potholes and Sidewalks.
Launched in 2008, SeeClickFix allows citizens anywhere in the world to report and monitor non-emergency community issues. Through web and mobile applications as well as embeddable widgets, SeeClickFix empowers citizens, community groups, media organizations, and governments to work together to improve neighborhoods. It is the most widely distributed citizen-reporting tool in the country, having recently surpassed 1 million issues. SeeClickFix supports the Open311 standard that promotes improved communication between local municipalities and the citizens they serve.
“We are happy to welcome the City of Decatur to the SeeClickFix family,” said SeeClickFix CEO and co-founder Ben Berkowitz. “We look forward to an engaging partnership with the Decatur community.”
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[…] The MyDecaturGA reporting platform uses SeeClickFix.com to allow “residents to document neighborhood concerns and improvements alike, ranging from graffiti and code violations to damaged sidewalks and potholes. It also features useful information such as lists of restaurants and city parks as well as links to the city’s blog, Facebook page and Twitter account,” according to the city’s blog, The Decatur Minute. […]