Six months after the issue of outdated communications and an insufficient online presence was brought up during Mayor Cantu’s re-election campaign against Krishna Jagannathan, Plainsboro Township officially introduced an all-new, user-friendly version of its municipal website, #b#PlainsboroNJ.com#/b#.
Recognizing the need to better connect with working professionals and the demographics of the community, the Plainsboro Township Committee had set forth the following objectives and functions for the updated website:
1. Enhance government transparency by providing more information that is more easily accessed.
2. Allow the public to conduct business with the township online. Users can make payments online, complete and submit forms, and register for programs. Also, residents are enabled to make service requests online.
3. Expand the township’s ability to communicate directly with citizens and businesses, especially during times of emergency, by using various methods of electronic notification as well as social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
Business Administrator Robert Sheehan said developing this version of the website offers the potential for business to be conducted online.
“We recognize that our residents will increasingly use the website as a conduit for services. The new website expands those opportunities. Going forward, the website will be a platform that we build upon and integrate fully into the day-to-day operations of the township,” he said.
To become part of this new interactive community and take full advantage of the website, residents will be asked to register on the website. That allows them to receive emergency information via text, E-mail, or phone.
Residents can also choose from a menu of other information that they would like to receive, such as tax payment reminders, public events, or road closings.
One prominent category on the site is the “I am a…..” tab, from which users select an identifier from four choices: business, resident, visitor, or senior. Users then get a menu of the likely choices for the site visit. For example when a user clicks “I am a visitor” a drop-down menu appears with three choices: a map and directions, the Princeton convention and visitor’s bureau, and transportation services.
