The Lackawanna County Commissioners unveiled on December 19 a brand new website jam-packed with County information, valuable community data, lightening quick on-line registrations, and personal and property searches that citizens can do from the comfort of their own homes or on their smart phones.
“The site is superb,” said Commissioner Jim Wansacz. “A lot of input from all three Commissioners and County departments went into this project. We wanted it to be as comprehensive as possible and user friendly. We accomplished this at no cost to the taxpayers because it was built in-house by our IT staff.”
“The new website gives everyone a great view of County government. It is very adaptive to different platforms, and we can certainly add as we go very quickly and efficiently,” explained Commissioner Corey D. O’Brien. “It will give browsers a glimpse of life in and the services of Lackawanna County. Our citizens will see what County government does and what programs are available to help them and their families. This will be a great economic development tool for us.”
“This website is great. It has put at the public’s fingertips volumes of information to help locate services, learn about the community, search data in our row offices, and apply for services on-line. We’ve made things much easier for the general public to find data that they need,” said Commissioner Patrick M. O’Malley.
The website, designed and created by Anthony Walters, a Systems Support Specialist, in the County’s Information Technology Department, can be accessed from just about anywhere via a smart phone, tablet, or computer. An individual can also stay connected via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and RSS feed.
The site, which was initially created in 2005, has significantly improved in its search capabilities. An individual can retrieve all of the available information in the County’s database on any topic or area they are researching.
The “Home Page” features various photos and story posts on County events, activities, programs, and a “How Do I” instruction section.
A “Community Calendar” is also located on the “Home Page.” It contains a storehouse of data on what’s going on in Lackawanna County, and it is also linked to the community calendars of the surrounding municipalities.
“News & Events” features videos on County meetings that load quickly and are more refined. Top County stories, meetings, hearings and photos are also on this page.
The “Legislation” section highlights current agendas, past meeting agendas and minutes.
“Public Records” contain on-line records, Requests For Proposals (RFP), Request For Qualifications (RFQ), baseball information, genealogy, deeds, assessments, and legislative materials to search.
The “Administration Section” highlights the County’s administrative services, corrections, human services, parks & recreation, emergency services, economic development, public works and environmental sustainability. Clicking on any one department will open that specific page, leading the individual to data and contacts for that respective area.
The “Government” tab highlights the functions, programs and services of all row offices, the judiciary and the Commissioners’ office.
Clicking on the Commissioners’ photos takes viewers to a redesigned page that has data on County facilities, audit, special links, and budgets. Biographies of the Commissioners can be reviewed by clicking on their names.
A niche feature is a County map on the Commissioners’ page. Moving the mouse over any of the townships, boroughs, or municipalities will show the resources invested by the Commissioners in that specific community. Clicking on the area provides even greater details of how the County has been involved in that specific locale.
At the bottom of every page is a website tree that also lets an individual get specific information on a specific office or department.
A final novel element of the new site is that by clicking on the U.S. Flag or the Pennsylvania Keystone, the search engine will take you right into either the White House or State website.
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