User-friendly county Web site launched

LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County officials have launched a new county Web site that will enable residents to more quickly access information about government operations.

The improved site boasts many new features, including a “consistent look and feel, improved site navigation, a site search engine and updated content,” according to site data.

Additions also will be put on the “What’s New” section on the Home Page.

The site, www.kauai.hawaii.gov, will be more user-friendly, David Murray, an information technology (IT) systems analyst, said during a media chat Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste hosted in his office at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.

“We realize that it is important to the public to quickly find the information they need,” Baptiste said. “Our team has worked hard on making the site user-friendly, so its content provides benefit to as many Kaua‘i residents as possible.”

An analysis of a Web site statistical study determined people wanted quick access to information such as bus schedules, forms and instructions and job announcements, Baptiste said Thursday.

Making the site user-friendly was a top priority, said Murray, who served as the lead developer for the project.

Murray said information will be put on the site almost constantly, or “whenever something comes in. I could say ‘daily.’”

The old Web site, www.kauaigov.org, launched in July 2003, had about the same information, but was harder to access, said Cyndi Ozaki, the county’s public information officer.

Several areas on the home page also will be reserved for new information, which can be posted as it becomes available, Murray said.

Visitors to the home page also can find information by using a search engine and a site map, Murray said.

“We have implemented a navigational system that is easy to follow,” Murray said. The “site-wide search engine” allows a person to search for “portal content as well as through our database of publicly available documents such as news releases, meeting agendas and departmental information,” Murray said.

One key change is the management of the site, he said, adding that it provides “automated content management capabilities and tools to help maintain a dynamic, data-driven site.”

The management tools allow those outside of the “IT team to update and publish their own data, for their respective Web pages,” Baptiste said.

People for, for instance, will now have access to information about employment opportunities with the county, officials said.

Because the Kaua‘i County Department of Personnel Services staffers are able to update their own Web information, job postings are expected to be listed on line in a more efficient and effective manner than was the case in the past when the information was first processed through the IT division, Murray said.

Murray said the improved site contains new county forms, and noted it is easier now to secure building permits on line.

The new site was launched on Nov. 1, without much fanfare, thus allowing analysts with IT systems to monitor the usage of the site and to correct “reliability issues,” officials said.

Even though no problems have surfaced so far, continual monitoring will occur, Murray said.

“We are proud of the IT team for their efforts to make County of Kaua‘i government and information more accessible to the public,” Baptiste said.

Baptiste said “in this era of electronic information and technology development, it is increasingly important for us to remain at the forefront of technology that will best serve our public.”

County leaders unveiled the county’s first Web site, www.kauaigov.org, in July 2003.

The Web site was created largely by students at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School in Puhi through a joint venture between county and school leaders.

Baptiste thanked the students for their “valuable work,” and noted that much of the design and content of the students’ site was retained during the development of the new site.

Murray indicated that the new site was necessary to provide for more efficient internal management of data.

“The students’ work in creating the initial site structure was invaluable,” Murray said. “We basically took their content and inserted it into a new framework.”

Baptiste and Murray said they foresee the day when improvements to the Web site will be such that people will be able to pay county bills online using credit cards.

“By the end of the 2006, our goal is to have people pay bills on line, permitting on line, credit-card acceptance, and they (IT division folks) will do it. We have a good team,” Baptiste said.

For more information on the new Web site call Murray at 241-4413, or Ozaki at 241-6303.