Dear County Commissioners,

I read an article the other day that was inspiring for what Cecil County could be doing with technology to lower costs, and improve services.

Here is the article.  I encourage you all to read it and think about what ideas might apply for our County.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/icitizen-bonus.html

Here is the website mentioned in the article. I haven’t investigated it fully, but I think it may be a great service that should be fully vetted by the appropriate IT or administrative staff within the county:

http://www.seeclickfix.com/how_seeclickfix_works

Outsourcing some of these administrative functions, and opening it up to public view would result in lower costs and much more transparent government operations. As the article also mentions, it could have positive impact on improving security. It would empower Cecil County residents to take personal responsibility to fix and deal with issue as they come up. Check out the example below:

The biggest way gov 2.0 could cut costs would be to leverage mass participation not just through voice, but through action. “I’m interested in how citizens help each other and add value in a community and lessen dependence on government,” says Tucson’s Greenhill, “especially in difficult economic times like these.” Ideally, a civic app doesn’t just make public data more visible; it makes them actionable, allowing or inviting the public to make a positive contribution. For example, in New Haven, a local carpenter saw an open ticket on SeeClickFix for park benches in need of repair. So he grabbed his tools and fixed them himself.

But the community building that happens every day on the site — and the effect that can have on everything from crime rates to local perceptions of government — is harder to quantify in dollars and cents.

Citizens in New Haven started using SeeClickFix more than a year ago to report pedestrian safety problems on the Court Street bridge in the Wooster Square neighborhood. When the economy took a dive, people began reporting muggings clustered around one area. Families with the same complaints used the site as a platform to connect with one another and to lobby both local businesses and the city for better lights in the area. Finally, neighborhood activist Karri Brady printed out the SeeClickFix reports and marched into city hall. The city responded by installing permanent solar lights. At the end of September, neighbors held a party on the bridge to thank the city and SeeClickFix. The side benefit of their successful campaign was the creation of a strong neighborhood organization that has since shifted its efforts to funding outdoor activities for kids.

I’d be glad to give a presentation to the Commissioners on this proposal/idea if you all think its something that might have legs.

Josue Sierra
Chairman,
R.O.C.