FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/4/2020
For more information, contact Tony Rodriguez
La Porte County Office of Community and Economic Development
219-877-8830
LaPorte County Evolves with Technological Changes
*******La Porte County Redesigns Government Website for Ease of Access******
(La Porte County, IN): The county’s website, Laportecounty.org, has been redesigned and rebooted and is now launching as a mobile-friendly site full of information for our citizens.
This project, first proposed by LaPorte County Commission President Sheila Matias, and fully supported by Commissioners Dr. Vidya Kora and Rich Mrozinski and the LaPorte County Council was implemented by the Office of Community and Economic Development under the direction of Director Tony Rodriguez.
“The existing county website was brought online in the early 1990’s when flip phones and Blackberries were considered the latest technology; this was long before iPhones and social media were even in existence. While that site served us well, in today’s world we are committed to efficient information-sharing and transparency in our county government. Our goal- and what is important to us as your elected leaders- is to provide better customer service and make helpful information easy to access. said Commission President Matias. “Using a local web development company, Sera Solutions, we kept our tax dollars circulating in our own county and supporting La Porte County families. We are proud to say that the new web site utilizes current methods and technology to make our site user friendly. Special thanks to Darlene Hale and the IT team as well as the members of the County Council for their ongoing support and enthusiasm for this project.”
With the new website, community members will easily be able to access the information they seek from PC’s, tablets and cell phones. The redesigned website also offers new features such as a search feature to take users directly to their search goal. Another new feature is the “Current Projects” tab to inform the community of current events and projects. This feature includes construction projects, economic initiatives and programs, an interactive community meetings calendar, and many other services offered by various county departments.
“It is apparent that the world continues to get smaller and we all want quick access to information. Our county website needed an update and our citizens deserve to be able to find information on the county services they need. This redesign was long overdue; we are very pleased that Tony Rodriguez and Bailey McGrath from the Office of Community & Economic Development are committed to the management of the website and keeping the content updated,” stated Dr. Vidya Kora, County Commissioner.
“We are offering the community a more efficient website.” Commissioner Richard Mrozinski added. “My fellow commissioners and I believe folks will like how easy it is to find county information as well as info on exciting activities happening in La Porte County.”
Tony Rodriguez stated, “From the beginning of this project, community input has been utilized to assist our team in designing an intuitive layout and navigation that makes sense for the citizens using it.” Additionally, Tony Rodriguez noted that he could not have been happier with the work on this project by the Michigan City digital marketing firm, SERA Solutions.
“This local firm has been inspirational to work with. The talented, young team of developers brings a vibrant Millennial energy to the table which is refreshing to a governmental client like La Porte County. What is critical today is to not only remain relevant but to constantly reinvent your community communications”, concluded Rodriguez.
Commissioner Sheila Matias had special praise and appreciation for the county employees who serve on the website Super User group. “These county employees from a cross section of departments accepted the challenge and stepped up to help us; they truly have made the difference in this project. Their ideas, their energy and their efforts to contribute content and then keep it fresh on an ongoing basis has been really amazing and I want to make sure they know how much they are appreciated!”
The new website launches March 4th, 2020. For more information, please reach out to Tony Rodriguez, Director of Community and Economic, at (219) 809-5733 or at [email protected].