Plan of Action for Putting Town on the BEV

Plan of Action for Putting Town on the BEV

From a letter to the Blacksburg Telecommunications Advisory Committee

Following is the plan of action for bringing the information that the Town has on the Blacksburg Electronic Village up-to-date along with a plan to keep it up-to-date. This plan was approved by the Blacksburg Telecommunications Advisory Committee on October 6, 1994. The attached plan incorporates recommendations suggested by the Committee.

As stated in the draft proposal, our vision of the Blacksburg Electronic Village is toenhance communication amongst citizens and in particular to be proactive and a catalyst for empowering citizens to interact with their local government. To this end, we believe the Town must aggressively pursue a leadership role in creating opportunities for citizens to communicate and participate with their local government electronically. This plan concentrates both on providing information on local issues to Town citizens as well as providing opportunities for citizens to "talk" to their local elected and appointed officials and one another about key local issues and concerns. It is our belief that, if we can develop this local government/community network, it will serve as a role model for other community insititutions and business to communicate using the Blacksburg Electronic Village.

We hope that this is just the beginning of the valuable input that the BTAC can bring to this project. Furthermore, we recognize that this plan of action is evolutionary and will change to accommodate the needs of our community.

List of Milestones

  1. Ensure that at least one computer in each Department is connected to the Blacksburg Electronic Village (November 15, 1994)

  2. Send updated information for Phase I (see attached Detail Description of Phase I services) to Biznet on floppy disks for initial configuration on the file server (November 1, 1994)

  3. Contract with Biznet to instruct Town employees on how to change information on the BEV so that it is up-to-date at all times and to provide us with access to a server to accomplish this task; we have to continually work at this so it is institutionalized in the Town's operational culture to consider the BEV like news releases, use of WTOB, etc. Assistant Town Manager and Station Manager will coordinate. (November 1, 1994)

  4. Implement Phase I: Inputing information on Town services and how to access services. (November 7, 1994) Continues on a weekly basis by each Department (Weekly or As Necessary Depending on Information)

  5. Assistant Town Manager/Station Manager (Weekly) Town Clerk monitors the timeliness of information on BEV to ensure that we are up-to-date on a weekly basis

    BTAC monitors timeliness of information and reports enhancements, concerns, etc. at monthly meetings (Monthly)

  6. Implementation of Phase II: Electronic Access to Request for Services (April 1, 1995) (see attached Detailed Description of Phase II services)
    Develop standards for responding to requests with assistance from BTAC. (March, 1995)

  7. Implementation of Phase III: Electronic Application, Registration and Payment for Town Services (January 1, 1996 with development during late 1995) (see attached Detailed Description of Phase II services)

    Identify subphases of implementation depending on availability of financial resources and priority service to citizens

    Ensure compatability of service with financial, personnel, planning and engineering and other existing software programs (Example: when a payment is received for a service, it should automatically be booked as a receivable in our accounting system following review of accuracy of payment to bill)

    Test the service with a sample of citizens (BTAC members and Town employees) to ensure it works

    Make adjustments if necessary

    Announce service to citizens via WTOB, About Town, etc.

To implement each of these tasks in the short term, the Assistant Town Manager, Station Manager, and Planner will serve as the Steering Committee to accomplish these tasks. Assistance from a computer consultant may be needed along the way.

Finally, the total cost for implementing Phase I is approximately $9,100. These funds are readily available from the BEV Project account. Additional costs will be those costs associated with the time that it takes staff to continually input data. Costs for Phase III are to be determined following review of this Phase by a computer consultant and completion of a Needs Assessment for Information Systems by Town staff.

Phase I: Town of Blacksburg Information

Phase I consists of timely information about the Town of Blacksburg together with information on how to access Town services.

Welcome to Blacksburg

  1. Introductory information on the Town (Geography, History, Population, Map, Scenic Graphic)
  2. The Mission of the Town of Blacksburg
    1. Citizens First Seal
  3. Blacksburg Town Council (photograph with names, addresses, phone numbers of Councilmembers)
    1. Greetings from the Mayor
    2. Town Council Strategic Goal
    3. Town Council Agenda
    4. Town Council Meeting Minutes
  4. Blacksburg Directory of Town Officials (Name, Address, Telephone Number)
    1. Brief Description of Responsibility of each Department
    2. Quarterly Report from the Town Manager
  5. Boards and Commissions
    1. Title of Each Board or Commission with brief description of Mission
    2. List of Current Members with Addresses and Telephone Numbers
    3. List of Vacancies (updated quarterly)
  6. Town Calendar (updated monthly)
    1. Town and Tech Activities
  7. About Town Newsletter

Directory of Information

  1. Accommodating Disabled Citizens
    1. TDD Availability
    2. Paratransit Services
  2. Blacksburg Transit
  3. Blacksburg Transit Locator
    1. General Information About BT
      1. Fare information
    2. Two Town Trolley (Blacksburg-Christiansburg)
    3. Special Purpose Housing
    4. Campus Circulator
    5. Windsor Hills to Hethwood
    6. Hethwood to Windsor Hills
    7. Tom's Creek A.
    8. Main Street
    9. Tom's Creek B
    10. Blacksburg Transit Route Inquiry System
      1. How to Receive BT Route Information
      2. On VPI Campus
      3. North Main Street, North of Montgomery Street
      4. South Main Street between Washington Street and Fairfax Road
      5. University City Boulevard, Hunt Club Road, and Tom's Creek Road
      6. Hethwood Boulevard, Prices Fork Road, West of 460 Bypass
      7. Windsor Hills (Harding Avenue and Roanoke Street East of Wharton Street
      8. Corporate Research Center, VPI Airport, and Ramble Road
      9. Montgomery Regional Hospital
      10. Special Purpose Housing
    11. North Main Street North of Montgomery Street (Select the item closest to your destination)
      1. Hethwood Region or Prices Fork Road (West)
      2. North (on North Main Street)
      3. South (on South Main Street)
      4. Special Purpose Housing
      5. Tom's Creek Road, Hunt Club Road, or University City Boulevard
      6. South Main Street
      7. Windsor Hills
    12. University City Boulevard, Hunt Club Road, and Tom's Creek Road
      1. Tom's Creek Road, Hunt Club Road or University City Boulevard via North Main Street
      2. Tom's Creek Road, Hunt Club Road or University City Boulevard via South Main Street
      3. Tom's Creek Road, Hunt Club Road or University City Boulevard via Special Purpose Housing
      4. Tom's Creek Road, Hunt Club Road or University City Boulevard via Hethwood, Prices Fork (West)
      5. Tom's Creek Road, Hunt Club Road or University City Boulevard via Windsor Hills
    13. Charter Service
    14. Paratransit Service
  4. Economic Development
    1. Government Guide to Starting a Business
    2. Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce
      1. Mission
      2. Officers
      3. Programs
    3. Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg
      1. Mission
      2. Officers
      3. Programs
    4. Facts and Figures
    5. Montgomery County Economic Development Commission
      1. Mission
      2. Officers
      3. Programs
    6. New Century Council
      1. Mission
    7. New River Valley Economic Development Alliance
    8. Corporate Research Center
      1. Mission
  5. Emergency Responses to Disasters
    1. What to Do
    2. Where to Get Information
    3. How to Prepare for an Emergency
  6. Fire Department
    1. Location of Fire Stations
    2. Government's Role in the Blacksburg Volunteer Fire Department
    3. Fire Prevention
    4. How to become a volunteer
    5. Open Burning Regulations
  7. Licenses, Payments and Permits
    1. Banner Permits
    2. Building Permits
    3. Business Licenses
    4. Certificates of Occupancy
    5. Dog Licenses
    6. Farmers Market Permit
    7. Fireworks Display Permits
    8. Home Occupations
    9. Noise/Mass Gathering Permits
    10. Parade/Demonstration Permits
    11. Paying Parking Tickets
    12. Real Estate Tax Payments and Rates
      1. Assessments
      2. Board of Equalization
    13. Sign Permits
    14. Utility Payments and Rates
    15. Vehicle Decals
  8. Personnel
    1. Job Openings
  9. Parks and Recreation
    1. Location of Parks and Recreation Facilities (map)
    2. Community Center
      1. Hours of Operation
      2. Schedule
      3. Room Rental - Community Center
        1. How to Rent a Room at the Community Center
        2. Cost of Renting a Room at the Community Center
    3. Indoor Aquatics Center
      1. Hours of Operation
      2. Program Schedule
      3. Rental
    4. Outdoor Swimming Pool
      1. Hours of Operation
      2. Rental
    5. Bicycle Trails
    6. Municipal Golf Course
      1. Hours of Operation
      2. Program Schedule
    7. Picnic Shelter Reservation
      1. How to Reserve a Picnic Shelter
      2. Cost of Renting a Picnic Shelter
    8. Program Registration
      1. Classes
      2. Basketball, Softball, Soccer Leagues
    9. Playgrounds - Locations
    10. Tennis Courts - Locations
  10. Planning and Zoning
    1. Planning Commission Members
      1. Names, addresses, phone numbers of Commissioners
    2. Planning Commission Subcommittees and Members
    3. Planning Commission Agenda
    4. Planning Commission Minutes
    5. Zoning Ordinance
    6. Occupancy Standards
    7. Board of Zoning Appeals
    8. Applications under Review
      1. Planning Commission
      2. Town Council
      3. Board of Zoning Appeals
    9. Public Safety
      1. Bicycle Registration
      2. Crime Prevention
      3. Dangerous Animals
      4. Domestic Violence
      5. Fingerprinting
      6. Leash Law
      7. Parking Regulations
        1. Permit Parking
      8. Police Reports
      9. Reporting a Crime
      10. Reporting an Accident
      11. Traffic Committee
        1. How to report traffic/pedestrian concerns
    10. Public Works
      1. Cleanup Schedule
      2. Dead Animals
      3. Leaf Collection Schedule
      4. Snow Removal
      5. Tree Pruning
    11. Recycling Collection
      1. Schedule for Curbside Recycling Collection
        1. Separating Materials for Curbside Recycling
      2. Corrugated Cardboard Recycling Locations
      3. Hazardous Waste
      4. Textiles
    12. Refuse Collection
      1. Schedule
    13. Rescue Squad
      1. Government's Role in Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad
      2. Location of Rescue Squad
      3. How to volunteer for the Rescue Squad
    14. Streetlights
      1. Reporting Streetlight Outages
      2. Requesting New Streetlights
    15. Voting
      1. Absentee Voting
      2. Registering to Vote
      3. Where to Vote
      4. Election Schedules
      5. About the Electoral Board
      6. League of Women Voters of Montgomery County
    16. WTOB/Channel 2
      1. How to Gain Access to Local Programming
      2. Programming Schedule
      3. Workshops on Equipment Usage

Phase II: Part A - Electronic Access to Request for Services, Part B - Electronic Survey/Issue Feedback

Phase II, Part A consists of various Town services that can be requested electronically.

  1. Blacksburg Transit A. Accessing Para-transit Service (electronic request for service)
  2. Parks and Registration
    1. Reserving a Picnic Shelter
  3. Planning and Engineering
    1. Request for Maps and Plans
  4. Police Department
    1. Requesting a Police Report
    2. Requesting a Vacation Monitor
  5. Public Works
    1. Request for Brush Pick-up
    2. Request for Special Pick-up
    3. Request for Dead Animal Cleanup
  6. Utility Service
    1. Request for Discontinuing Service

Phase II, Part B is an opportunity for citizens to electronically provide feedback to the Town Council and Town staff on current issues through either open-ended discussion or brief survey mechanisms.

  1. Talk to Your Town On...... (examples only)
    1. Comprehensive Plan
    2. Proposed Ordinances
    3. Cat Control
  2. What's YOUR Opinion? (survey component)

Phase III: Electronic Application, Registration, Payment for Town Services

Phase III consists of various registrations and applications that citizens can complete electronically and send via computer to the appropriate Town department for processing.

This phase also includes information on how to make payments for Town services electronically using credit cards.

  1. Finance Department
    1. Business License Application
    2. Vehicle Decal Registration
    3. Dog License Registration
    4. Utility Service Application
    5. Utility Service Payment
  2. Fire Department
    1. Open Burning Permit
  3. Personnel
    1. Job Application
  4. Police Department
    1. Bicycle Registration
  5. Planning and Engineering
    1. Sign Permit Application
    2. Building Permit
    3. Utility Connection
  6. Town Clerk
    1. Parade/Demonstration Permit
    2. Noise Registration
    3. Mass Gathering Permit
    4. Banner Permit
    5. Fireworks Display Permit