State and Local Government News

Improving outreach to consituents in Boise, ID

A content management system (CMS) has helped create a dynamic, interactive online presence for the city of Boise, ID.

After hiring a chief information officer, the city proceeded to create a strategic IT plan, refocusing its efforts on providing maximum value to consumers. Anticipating tremendous growth in the volume of documents, images, graphics and Web content for its site, the city decided to implement a CMS as part of its IT blueprint, eventually choosing Rhythmyx from Percussion Software. The goals were to eliminate redundant and out-of-date content and to ensure that Web pages adhere to city policies and mandated accessibility standards.

Garry Beaty, chief information officer, says, "Content management is proving to be very productive in Boise, allowing Web authors from around the city to maintain their own content while keeping with the branding effort that has been established. Future enhancements include a better customer interface for transactions that can be accomplished over the Web. These are in the planning stage currently."

For Boise, the knowledge management solution saves time, reduces the amount of maintenance that the site typically requires and has improved e-government, according to Percussion.