The big dollars being set aside for web enabling major Councils like Brisbane City, should not intimidate smaller local authorities into believing that everything with an ‘e’ in front of it is virtually out of reach. Councils of modest size, like Crows Nest in country Queensland, and even very small rural shires like Clifton, about 100 kilometres to the south of Crows Nest, are benefiting in a number of ways from the application of web technology.
Clifton started its website in 1997 as a way to advertise the virtues of this peaceful Darling Downs Shire with its blend of accessibility to major centres, good services and affordable land. Over the past four years, www.clifton.qld.gov.au has developed into what has been described as a model small site – attractive, simple and still providing plenty of information for residents and non residents alike.
You can for example search the cemetery records; look at the latest minutes and financial information; check out local businesses and business opportunities. The result: a raised profile for the Shire and a reduced clerical overhead, as surfers collect data from the site without needing assistance from Council staff.
These kinds of benefits are multiplied when you visit the Crows Nest website, www.CNnet.com.au, which offers hundreds of pages of Council and community information. Web facilitation is extended to areas such as downloadable town planning maps, detailed FAQs on many Council matters, application forms, mini websites for local service organisations, rates calculator and much more.
While some web applications are effectively little more than fancy window dressing, just about everything on the Crows Nest site is highly practical.
The Shire is growing at a fast rate and CEO David McEvoy has a vision in which the principles demonstrated through the CNnet site figure prominently. He is looking to increased cost savings, thanks to reduced clerical intervention in everyday tasks, and a local community that is increasingly IT aware.
As just one example, the local tourism and progress association has applied for funding to help launch its own website and build on the exposure for Crows Nest that CNnet has already generated.
