Part of the St. Mary’s County Government mission statement calls for “being responsive and accountable to the county’s citizens.” As part of that accountability, the Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County is committed to increasing the transparency of ongoing operations.
Citizens are using the county’s website, www.stmarysmd.com to find information, resources and programs. For example, over 30,000 unique visitors to the website are recorded each month. The website contains over 7400 web pages and a website refresh effort has been completed to ensure that information is even more easily accessible.
The county’s home page has been redesigned and was presented at the July 13 Board of County Commissioners meeting. The new design features a pull-down menu with frequently asked questions. It will continue to include a community calendar in a calendar format.
The redesign was developed by representatives from several county departments. “We wanted our county’s website to become a portal for our citizens to find information quickly and easily,” explained Karen Everett, Public Information Officer. “The new design is citizen-focused.”
“A major feature of a webpage is the ability to modify the contents quickly and easily. We welcome suggestions and feedback about the county’s website,” added Bob Kelly, Director, Information Technology. He also emphasized that the refreshed website will download faster and can easily link citizens to many county services.
Citizens can easily send questions and concerns to county government. Queries can continue to be sent to Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County, PO Box 653, Leonardtown, MD 20650 or via email to bocc@stmarysmd.com. Information requests can be sent via the website by clicking on Contact Us. The telephone number for St. Mary’s County Government remains 301-475-4200.
A few examples of recent technological additions to increase the dissemination of information include:
***Auto-notifications. Click on E-Notices on the home page to receive any of these county notices: Media Releases, Agendas/Minutes, Public Hearing Documents, Newsletters (Dept of Aging bi-monthly, Dept of Economic Development weekly e-Newsletter, Tourism Monthly, Library Monthly), Finance Budget Documents, Procurement Opportunities, Recreation and Parks Announcements, Sheriff’s Announcements, etc.
***The Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County meetings are taped and aired live on Tuesdays on County Government Channel 95. The meetings are also broadcast on Channel 95 on Thursday and during the following weekend. The meetings can also be watched from the county’s website (click on 95 Live).