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SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: September 16, 2009 AGENDA ITEM:
DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office CITY MANAGER: Dave Anderson
PREPARED BY: Crystal Morrow DIRECTOR: Barbara Powell
Administrative Analyst II Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Launch of New City Website
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Presentation only, no action is necessary.
BACKGROUND:
On September 16, 2009, the City of Saratoga will officially launch its new website. The website
has been constructed to be informative, easy to navigate, convenient for residents, and attractive.
Throughout the website’s development, staff has sought input from residents to ensure the new
site meets expectations and serves as a resource for Saratoga’s residents. The City started
outreach efforts by forming a Website Design Team to work directly with Civica Software. The
Design Team was comprised of 4 members of the public representing schools, neighborhoods,
business, and the general public, and 3 City staff members.
Public Representatives City Staff Representatives
Lane Weiss Schools Dave Anderson City Manager
Bob Luetz Neighborhoods Leo Salindong IT Analyst
Sunil Gupta Business Crystal Morrow Administrative Analyst
Brian Berg General
Two Councilmembers, Jill Hunter and Susie Nagpal, were also invited to share their thoughts on
the development of the new website. A meeting with the Website Design Team, Councilmembers
Hunter and Nagpal, and Civica was held early in the development process to establish goals for
the project. As a result of the meeting, the Website Design Team came away with clear priorities
that helped to guide the design of the new website.
Members of the Design Team also solicited and evaluated input from a larger group of residents
called the Website Advisory Group. This citizen group, which had over 40 members, submitted
recommendations via email on critical design decisions. Many of the City’s Commissioners
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volunteered to serve as Website Advisory Group members. Input from the Website Advisory
Group played a key role in the Design Team’s decisions.
Both the Design Team and Website Advisory Group have also acted as beta testers for the new
site. Before being publicly launched, both groups were invited to review the website and provide
their feedback. This final phase of the website’s development was conducted to reveal any
problems or opportunities for improvement that staff may have missed. Feedback from the beta
testing process has been very positive. Many beta testers have indicated that they expect the new
website will make it easier to find information and conduct City-related business online.
The Website Committee, a team of City staff members, has been working diligently on preparing
the website for its public launch and incorporating beta tester suggestions. The Website
Committee includes the following staff members:
- Rob Balbuena
- Kristin Borel
- Debbie Bretschneider
- Michael Fossati
- Adam Henig
- Monica LaBossiere
- Crystal Morrow
- Barbara Powell
- Leo Salindong
- Kimberly Saxton-Heinrichs
- Melanie Whittaker
FISCAL IMPACTS:
N/A
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
N/A
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
N/A
FOLLOW UP ACTION(S):
N/A
ADVERTISING, NOTICING AND PUBLIC CONTACT:
Nothing additional.
ATTACHMENTS:
Nothing additional.