The Municipality of Meaford has won a national municipal innovation award for its Report a Concern website portal.
A release says the portal allows residents to report their concerns online as a way to enhance limited resources, ‘put the customer first,’ and gather data for planning purposes.
Meaford was recognized by the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) in the Under 20,000 population category, during a Virtual Awards of Excellence Ceremony.
Launched in January 2020, simple-to-use tool has allowed the municipality to effectively track, respond to, and monitor resident requests, allowing for enhanced customer service, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The introduction of the website portal stems from the municipality’s mandate to improve responsiveness to its citizens.
The municipality partnered with AccessE11 for the implementation of the portal.
The municipality says significant benefits have come from having a system that allows for tracking, responding to, planning for, and analyzing requests, while at the same time eliminating duplication of effort and paper-based processes.
It says it allowed staff to address other challenges and shift their focus to enhanced responsiveness to the community and visitors.
There were 35 submissions from across the country entered this year.