Rio Vista City

April 1, 2010

Website Redesign

Its been long in coming but since you are reading this, you have obviously found the City’s newly redesigned website. The City has been working on redesigning its website for slightly under a year with an attractive and inviting look that reflects the community and makes it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

It is clear from public comments that our website is an important source of information about the City.  As such, during the City Council goal setting session, it was clear that the website is a “Window to the City” and was in need of updating. With the assistance from John Smulo of Purple Cow Websites, the redesigned website began to take form. The new redesigned and enhanced website not only presents an updated appearance and updated information, but also provides better resident service and increased accessibility to government information. To improve operations and cut costs, the new site also allows in-house staff in each department to directly manage content so that new information can be posted and outdated pages can be removed in a timely and efficient manner.

In the event that you haven’t had a chance to fully explore the new and improved site, let me take this opportunity to highlight some of the added features:

1. Nixle Sign Up: This feature located under Police Department will allow residents and other interested parties to subscribe to an email list on various topics, such as notification of special events, and road closures & traffic disruptions.

2. Calendar: The new site contains two calendars, one for listings of scheduled City Council, Commission, and Committee meetings and the other which lists dates of community events or meeting, such as the Bass Festival, and non-profit organizations meetings. Upcoming events, as well as special notices, are also listed on the homepage.

3. FAQs: Website visitors can browse the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page by category to easily find answers to commonly asked questions. If you cannot find an answer to your question, feel free to leave the department a voice message or email and we will make sure we add that to our website.

4. Forms and Downloads: To provide the community with quicker access to documents, forms, plans and studies we have created a tab where citizens can easily download but a virtual “click”. The documents include permit applications, facility rental forms, and studies, plans and many more. This section will be periodically updated as documents are developed.

5. Staff Directory: This feature makes it easy to find the appropriate person at City Hall, Fire or Police Department. Found under the Contact Us link at the top of the homepage, staff members are listed by name and department with their phone number and email address.

As we continue to enhance and grow our website, your suggestions on how it can be more effective and useful are certainly appreciated. We welcome your ideas, and encourage your direct participation. Please be sure to bookmark the site and visit us frequently.