App connects city officials with residents

yourGov gives residents a chance to point out issues such as potholes, downed branches

The yourGov app gives residents the ability to pinpoint issues within the city directly to employees.

ONEIDA >> The City of Oneida is turning to new app to increase efficiency and provide residents with a faster way to alert the Public Works Department about potholes, downed tree branches and other things that need attention.

Titled the yourGov application, the software runs on tablets, smartphones and computers.

When users open yourGov, a map of the City of Oneida appears, with GPS marking the user’s location. Then, the city resident using the application would mark a need for the city’s wood chipper to clean up downed branches or inform work crews to a pothole that needs filling. The application would immediately process the request, making it available to both the city engineer and public works crews. Smartphone or tablet users can even take a picture

to accompany the marked location.

The list of possible scenarios or problems that users can identify on the yourGov application include: dead animals, drainage issues, general street maintenance, graffiti, illegal dumping, potholes, sidewalk issues, damaged road signs, downed trees, and yard waste.

“For all city tasks, we track it using this software,” City Engineer Jon Rauscher said of the application. “We’re using guys more efficiently and providing better service as well.”

While the city first introduced yourGov at the beginning of the new year, it has yet to catch on. “There has not been a lot of use out of it from residents,” the city engineer said.

The city hopes that by encouragingmore residents to use the application to contact the public works department, it will be able to focus more on road and sewer maintenance.

For years, the practice has been to send DPW work crews throughout the city for eight hours a day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, searching for piles of debris for the chipper or potholes that required filling. With more widespread use of the application, Rauscher believes crews will be more efficient and be able to dedicate more time to the upkeep of city parking lots, sidewalks and other infrastructure .

The city engineer said residents are still able to call or email City Hall with requests for the wood chipper, pothole filling or drain- age issues. Green waste collections will remain as currently scheduled.

To learnmore about yourGov and sign up: https:// yourgov.cartegraph.com/

To contact Oneida City Hall call (315) 363-4800 or visit: http://oneidacity.com/

JOHN BREWER - ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH City of Oneida Public Works employees are utilizing an app to streamline communication between residents and their department.