Town Officer Connectivity Project
Center for Rural Studies - UVM
February 2001, Christine O'Gorman

When we talk about the Internet as it relates to town officials, there are essentially two separate issues to consider. The first is whether or not to provide Internet access to town employees. The other involves the concept of "e-government" – whether or not towns should have official web sites and/or provide information and services to their residents online. While many town officials have recognized that the Internet can be a valuable tool, others have been more reluctant to jump on the bandwagon.

Use of the Internet. Data released by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce) in August 2000 show that 51% of all households have computers (up from 42.1% in December 1998), and that 41.5% of households have Internet access – a 58% increase in less than two years. In rural areas, 38.9% of all households have Internet access. More than 116 million Americans were online at some location, which is about 32 million more than were online 20 months earlier. Almost 80% of Internet users use e-mail, and applications such as online shopping and bill paying are seeing the fastest growth. All of this supports the conclusion that the Internet is not a luxury item, but rather a widely-used and valuable resource. Odds are that an increasing number of your town’s residents are using the Internet with increasing sophistication. If it hasn’t happened already, it is probably just a matter of time before residents start demanding electronic services from their governments.

Employee Access to the Internet. The Internet can be a valuable tool for employees. It allows them access to a vast amount of information very quickly and at a relatively low cost. It helps to think of Internet access the same as you would any other tool, such as phones, fax machines, computers, and copiers.

Some town officials resist allowing their employees to have access to the Internet out of fear that the employees will use it for personal reasons or that they will spend so much time "surfing the Web" that they will not get their work done. However, fear of abuse of telephones, faxes, and copiers generally does not lead town officials to conclude that these tools must be removed from the office. Of course it is possible that people will use these tools incorrectly. For this reason, towns should have policies governing personal use of town resources and then take reasonable steps to monitor usage. Internet usage can be monitored, just as use of the phones can be monitored.

Increasingly, people will want to be able to interact with their town officials via e-mail or some other form of electronic communication. Part-year residents in particular may appreciate being able to ask questions and obtain information from town employees via e-mail or the Web, rather than having to write a letter or make a long-distance phone call.

Several town officials have told me that they use their personal Internet accounts for work purposes, in effect subsidizing town business. It is unlikely that they would donate their own resources to their towns unless they believed that Internet access is a valuable tool for them at work.

Time Considerations. Experienced users of the Internet at work often report that it saves them time. While it does take time to read and respond to e-mail, it is important to remember that it also takes time to talk on the phone and to write and mail letters. It is often quicker and easier to obtain information off of a web site than it is to make sometimes several calls to request that someone send the information via "snail mail." E-mail communication is often faster and more efficient than using the phone or paper. For example, if a town employee needs to distribute a piece of information to all members of the Selectboard or Planning Commission, it is quicker to send a single e-mail message to the group than it is to print, copy, and mail the information. Better still, if the town has a web site, important information can be posted on the Web, thereby making it available to the general public, as well as to town officials.

Many organizations, including State offices, now make information available to the public via their web sites. The information is cheap, easy to find, and available any time you need it. Many town officials have reported that they often obtain information from various State web sites. Grant applications, regulations, information about Act 250 proceedings, statutes, legislation, and much more are readily available on State agencies’ web sites. Most Federal agencies also make similar information available on their web sites.

The Internet provides a means for town officials to communicate with each other. Many town officials use free e-mail based discussion groups, such as Muninet, to share information, ideas, success stories, and warnings. This means that they can avoid having to "reinvent the wheel" or having to make numerous phone calls to see what other towns are doing. With a single e-mail message, a town clerk can solicit information from more than 150 town officials throughout Vermont. Some town officials have used the Internet to locate people, such as long-lost delinquent taxpayers. This can save them a great deal of time and trouble. Recently, a Vermont town clerk sent a message to Muninet subscribers asking for help in locating two former residents. Another town clerk provided her with their current addresses that same day.

Cost Considerations. It is true that it can cost money to provide Internet access to town employees, just as it costs money to provide telephones and fax machines. However, most towns in Vermont are small enough that a single account, with perhaps two or three additional user names (which usually come at no additional cost) will provide adequate access for Town employees. Unlimited access generally costs about $15-$20 per month. It is often possible to obtain limited access for considerably less. It would be worthwhile to shop around to find a plan that best suits the needs of your town. An additional benefit is that most Internet accounts come with a certain amount of space on the Internet provider’s server, which the town could use to publish its web site.

The cost of Internet access can be partially offset by using e-mail and the Web instead of making phone calls, making copies, and sending documents via regular mail. Using local dial-up to send or obtain information via the Internet is less expensive than making a toll call for the same purpose.

Using the Internet to purchase items for the Town can actually save the Town money. For many items, such as computers and other electronics, the best prices can be found on the Internet. Often, the cost savings more than offset any additional shipping charges. One town needed to purchase a laser printer, and quickly found that they could save a lot of money by ordering it online, rather than from an office supply store or a catalog. Some companies offer discounts for people who do order from them online. One national office supply store often offers online coupons for $25 off any order of $100 or more, with free shipping. That $25 savings would more than pay for Internet access for a month, for example.

A report entitled, E-Government: The Next American Revolution (http://www.excelgov.org/egovpoll/), prepared by Hart-Teeter for The Council for Excellence in Government says that Americans generally believe that e-government will mean better government, and that the public’s vision of e-government extends beyond efficient and high-quality services to a more informed and empowered citizenry and a more accountable government. By a considerable margin, people believe that greater accountability is the greatest benefit that e-government could confer, followed by greater access to public information.

Municipalities all over the country and in Vermont are publishing their own web sites. As more Americans are connecting to the Internet and using it for a wide variety of applications, they are beginning to expect to have the ability to interact electronically with their governments at the Federal, state, and local levels. The Hart-Teeter study reported that two-thirds of Americans initially said that it should be a high or medium priority for government to invest tax dollars in making more information and services available over the Internet. After learning about specific positive examples of e-government, the proportion of the public saying that investing tax dollars in e-government should be a priority grows to 77%.

It may be comforting to know that the public wants to proceed carefully in this area. It is advisable for towns to start small and then slowly add more functionality as it becomes necessary and feasible. Towns may want to begin with the strategy of simply providing information to the public, which can be accomplished by publishing a single "home page" that contains basic information about the town government, such as names of town officials, meeting times and dates, office hours, and contact information. Then the town could add such things as agendas and minutes for board meetings, the town budget, the town plan, zoning regulations, information about voting, a community calendar, ordinances, and so on.

As town employees and residents become more accustomed to the Internet, the town could then consider adding functionality to their web sites, such as allowing people to download building permits or even allowing people to submit permit applications online. Towns could also allow people to register their dogs online. Some towns have already reached the point where they allow people to pay taxes and bills online, using credit cards.

The point is that a town’s web presence can be as simple or as sophisticated as the town would like it to be, and is a marvelous tool for providing information to the public. Web pages are surprisingly simple to create and publish, and many towns already have someone on staff who is motivated to learn how to do it. Some towns rely on volunteers, such as local college, high school, or elementary schools (!) students, to design and maintain their web sites. Establishing even a basic web site now is a proactive first step to providing better service to residents both now and in the future. Starting down the road now can help towns avoid the potentially traumatic reality of having to play "catch-up" a few years from now.

The Internet has long passed the point where it was merely a novelty or a luxury. It is now a valuable tool used by an increasing number of Americans in almost every facet of their lives, both professionally and personally. Local governments all across the United States are using the Internet to better serve their residents, whether it be by online bill-paying, video-streaming of public meetings, sponsoring chat rooms to solicit input from the public, or by merely providing basic information to the public about government operations. A well-informed citizenry is important in a democratic society, in that it encourages increased participation in government matters and increased accountability of public officials. Town officials should not overlook this valuable resource.

E-Government: City Hall Without Walls (http://www.pti.org/links/PTI_NLC_egovkit.doc)

Public Technology Inc. E-Government Links (http://www.pti.org/links/e_government.html)

National Academy of Public Administration Center for eGovernance (http://www.napawash.org/cim.nsf?OpenDatabase)

Center for Technology in Government (University of Albany/SUNY) (http://www.ctg.albany.edu)

E-Gov Journal (http://www.e-gov.com/egovjournal/news/index.pl)