SOUTH RIVER Aiming to provide more interactive web features for its residents, the Borough Council is expanding the “DO-it” initiative.
The initiative is comprised of three online service features that include “CALL-it,” the borough’s new feedback hotline, “REPORT-it,” a service to help residents report non-emergency concerns, and “MAP-it,” an interactive map for residents.
Councilman Ryan Jones spearheaded the campaign to implement the DO-it initiative for the borough.
“We’ve been working hard to build a friendlier South River and we believe the suite of services we’re calling DO-it is a big step in that direction. The primary goal is to allow online filing and payment of our forms, permits and applications, which we’ll be launching later this year,” he said.
Currently, the new online programs are in their early stages of operation and new features will be added to each one in the coming months.
CALL-it allows residents to provide feedback, suggest new ideas and improve the town. The program is for non-emergencies only.
The REPORT-it service creates a case file internally and routes the issue to the appropriate departments, creating workflows for addressing issues in an efficient manner. It also gives officials the ability to follow up with residents, informing them that action is being taken and in many cases, detailing the specifics of that action, according to information provided by the borough.
The service allows residents to report concerns related to, but not limited to: abandoned property, animal concerns, tree concerns, garbage/litter issues, illegal property activities, improper signage, park issues, overgrown vegetation, pedestrian/street paint issues, street light issues, potholes, snow/ice removal, zoning violations, nuisance, unsafe conditions, and miscellaneous concerns, according to information provided by the borough.
MAP-it offers custom map layers that organizes and explains planning in South River, according to information provided by the borough.
“[We’ve] already launched betas of our smart map, MAP-it, our concern reporter, REPORT-it, and several other tools to make it easier for residents to interact with the borough. There’s also a mobile app and we are working with the police to add additional services to better assist them. We’ll be working out the kinks during this stage and encourage everyone to try it out. We’re really excited to get this into residents’ hands and continue improving how they interact with the borough,” Jones said.
Previously, the council passed a resolution in March to enter into an agreement with GovPilot to begin providing community interactive features on the borough’s website.
For more information on the DO-it online services, visit www.southrivernj.org/doit/.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
