SOUTH AMBOY — The city is considering implementing new software that may assist officials with their responsibilities and streamline residents’ ability to accomplish tasks that otherwise would require a trip to City Hall.
GovPilot, from the Hoboken company of the same name, is a cloud-based data management tool that bills itself as a solution to unify city departments and services and their respective data. Customizable maps are a core component of the software; for instance, an official can view all foreclosures on a particular street.
Examples the company gives as tasks residents can accomplish with the tool are applying for licenses, filing complaints and registering a business. Residents would be able to access and submit forms from a computer or mobile phone — anything with Internet access — at any time.
The tool’s basic version supports four departments and can be expanded from there, so exactly what South Amboy’s version would look like would need to be determined.
At a Nov. 4 GovPilot presentation, the company’s director of sales, James Delmonico, said the tool also helps with accountability as it tracks whatever actions a user takes. He also said the system supports an unlimited number of users.
He also promoted the reliability of the software.
“We’ve never had any down time on either one of [our servers],” he said.
According to the company, municipalities such as Montclair, Hillsborough, Westfield and Union Township all use the software.
South Amboy officials again discussed possibly purchasing the software at the Dec. 2 business meeting.
Business Administrator Camille Tooker and City Clerk Laura Kemble-Kalantsis said they were interested in obtaining the tool.
Kemble-Kalantsis said she liked the ability to respond to residents’ concerns quickly.
“We can go right on there and say, ‘It’s being addressed,’” she said.
“I do like it,” Councilwoman Zusette Dato said. “I think it’s a good way to keep everything efficient and streamlined.”
GovPilot comes with a tiered pricing system: the cost the first year is just under $20,000, but years two and three cost $20,000.
Councilman Tom Reilly asked what the company does for that fee, and Tooker and Kemble-Kalantsis said the company runs the tool and houses all of the content, freeing up city employees to ensure the right information is posted and to act upon requests from residents and other departments.
Reilly also asked about whether confidential information would be available to residents online. Tooker and Kemble-Kalantsis said it would not, as what level of information is available varies depending on the type of user who is logged in.
“I think it’s a good program,” Mayor Fred Henry said. “I think we should move forward with it.”
Although other officials informally agreed that they were in favor of the purchase, they also agreed that they should get a fuller picture of what the tool can do as well as show it to the public during a demonstration.
Reilly said he was hesitant to have the demonstration done at a council meeting since turnout is historically very low for those.
After the meeting, Tooker and Kemble- Kalantsis said a demonstration was in the process of being scheduled.