Mason City is the first Iowa community to launch a program enabling residents to take pictures of problem areas and send them instantly to City Hall.
“See-Click-Fix” lets people report quality-of-life issues and request city services though an online and mobile interface. Residents can send in complaints about things like garbage, junk cars, weeds and other neighborhood nuisances.
City administrator Brent Trout says in its several weeks, people have responded quickly to the program.
“It allows for a more seamless viewing by the citizen that they’ve submitted a complaint about a particular location,” Trout says. “They’re able to track and see that staff has acknowledged they received the request, that they now are aware of it and they’re going to look at it.”
They’ll also see what actions are taken, like when a notice is sent to the property owner or when the problem is corrected. Trout says the program allows people to follow the responses to their complaints and get feedback right away.
He says in the past, people may have wondered if someone at City Hall had even seen their complaint. This also allows people in the neighborhood to see that something is in the process and they can add their concern about the issue.
Trout says he expects more people will be using See-Click-Fix in the future.
“It’s going to be an excellent communications tool,” he says, as it’s a simpler system for people who want to remain anonymous. It also provides the capability to allow citizens to address issues they think should be remedied.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City
