CITY CODE CAN BE SEEN ON WEB SITE

Researching the Cape Girardeau city code no longer requires a trip to City Hall and ample time spent plowing through a 3 1/2-inch thick tome.

Now the Code of Ordinances is just a few mouse clicks away on the city's Web site.

This is another step toward a virtual City Hall," said City Manager Michael Miller. "Citizens are able to get information and communicate with the city 24 hours a day from the convenience of their own home."

Miller said the city code was added to the Web site last week as part of a continuing effort to make city government more accessible.

"Not everyone has a computer, but a growing chunk of our community does," he said, adding that for many people the Internet is their primary source of information.

In addition to making the city code more accessible, the posting also makes it easier for people to find what they need. A simple keyword search quickly locates the desired subject and related ordinances.

This yields efficiency not just for citizens but for city workers, who can cut and paste ordinances when preparing documents, Miller said.

The online city code is maintained by the Municipal Code Corp., the company that periodically updates the code with new ordinances.

Also, the number of times a year the code is updated has been doubled. Instead of being revised every six months, it will now be revised every three months.

The City Council, which meets every two weeks, almost always adds new ordinances when it meets.

In addition to the city code, the city's Web site provides updated City Council meeting agendas and minutes, city job openings, services, activities and events, plus a guide to many other services available in the community.

Miller said the site eventually will offer staff reports on specific issues of community interest.

Jackson City Administrator Steve Wilson said that city's Web site currently doesn't include the Jackson city code. However, he said it could be added in the future.

"We are in the process of redoing our Web site, and it might be something we will take a look at," Wilson said. "I don't know how much room we have there, but it would make good sense that we do that if we have the room."

The Web site address: www.showme.net/capecity