Online government

~ Public entities depend on Internet sites to dispense information.

When Bill Bailey first logged on to Scott County's Web site more than a year ago, he didn't know what to expect.

The Commerce, Mo., resident certainly didn't expect what he found -- a snazzy, professional-looking Web site that was chock-full of fascinating information, from demographic and tax-paying data to specific information about county offices.

He could even find out where to find the best cheeseburger in Scott County.

"I was surprised, pleasantly surprised," said Bailey, who is chairman of Commerce's board of trustees. "I've seen some other county Web sites where information is just stuck on there and never updated. This one's updated all the time."

That's the point of governmental Web sites, which increasingly are used as the main means of distributing information to residents, providing a mechanism for paying taxes and making a positive first impression on businesses and industries considering ventures in a new community.

Cities and counties aren't alone. Other taxpayer-supported entities, such as school districts and tourism organizations, are relying on Web pages.

"For us it's not an option," said Chuck Martin, director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. "If you don't have one, you're not even in the game."

On the CVB Web site, which costs about $100 a month to maintain, would-be tourists can find out about hotels, restaurants and attractions. Decisions are made based on the Web site, Martin said.

"When you're marketing to other people and trying to get them to come to your community, you have to give them a foretaste of the experience," Martin said. "In this business, it's a necessity."

The reason such Web sites are in demand is simple, according to Dave Green of Creative Design Group in Malden, Mo., the company that designed the Web sites for Scott County and the CVB.

Government officials and others are finally realizing, he said, that everybody's job is easier if the information is available to residents 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"So instead of answering the same questions over and over and over, once it's on the Web site the answers are out there forever," Green said. "We also think in today's busier-than-ever society with people working longer than they ever have, the public needs and demands answers to their questions, which they may not be able to ask until after 5 p.m. when the office is closed."

Joel Evans, who's in charge of Scott County's Office of County Development, said having a professional and useful Web site isn't a luxury exclusive to larger communities. Even counties of 40,000 people, like Scott County, have to have an impressive Web site, he said, because potential business ventures may hinge on it.

"Our Web site may be the only contact we have with a business," said Evans, who maintains the Web site and works to attract new business to Scott County. "They may be researching us and we never know it. Counties are being eliminated without ever knowing it."

Evans said www.scottcountymo.com is relatively inexpensive, as well. The Web site, which debuted a little over a year ago, cost $26,650 to build, with $21,500 coming through a federal rural development grant and $5,000 in local matching funds. The yearly maintenance cost is $720, he said.

But the results speak for themselves, Evans said. In June, the county's Web site had 108,000 hits.

"It's a great tool for what we have to pay," he said.

At the Cape Girardeau official Web site, www.cityofcapegirardeau.org, users can find municipal codes, ordinances, maps, notices of public meetings and contact information for department heads, among other things, said assistant city manager Heather Brooks.

The Web site -- which costs $600 year for hosting and maintenance -- doesn't allow people to pay their city bills yet, but Brooks said they're working on it.

"I think there's been an overall shift in our culture in relying on the Internet," Brooks said. "People want information at the tips of their fingers. It's a really great customer-service tool."

Residents who stop in at the Riverside Regional Library in Benton, Mo., often use the computers to check out Scott County's Web site, said head librarian Bernice Kern.

"We have it on our computers all the time," Kern said. "Several patrons log on every time they come in here. In fact, I'm on it right now."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137