A revamped city website and new smartphone app for residents to interact with government were the highlights of Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti’s “State of the City” speech Tuesday (Nov. 1).
The “Access Ansonia” app — currently available for iPhone and Android — allows residents to report blight and a host of other issues, check scheduled meetings, sign up for updates, or message the mayor.
A first for municipalities in the lower Naugatuck Valley, Cassetti said the motivation behind its creation was simple — giving residents tools to communicate better with officials charged with running the city.
“This is your government, and it’s our job to provide you with all the access that technology can allow,” he said.
The app allows residents to report problems at specific addresses for a range of issues such as blight, graffiti, parking, sanitation, and snow plowing, to name a few.
Users can snap a picture to send along with any reports.
Once submitted, city officials can investigate and then update a resident directly through the app.
Cassetti said the city’s website was also redesigned with a view to serving taxpayers better.
“It features a crisp, modern layout that will allow residents to easily obtain all of the information they may need from City Hall,” he said. “It also puts a major emphasis on interactive communications.”
The reach-out is in line with the city’s efforts to develop a Facebook page and a camera recording system to record meetings in Aldermanic chambers, the mayor said.
About 75 people turned out for Cassetti’s speech — the third such event since he took office after the 2013 municipal elections — at Emmett O’Brien Technical High School, which recently completed nearly $100 million in improvements and renovations.
Cassetti, an alumnus of the school, thanked Principal Laurie LeBouthillier for hosting the event. LeBouthillier said an open house would be scheduled soon.
Elsewhere
The new app and website were the highlights of Tuesday’s speech, which was mainly a recap of the Cassetti administration’s efforts to reduce taxes and boost development.
Cassetti said an upcoming audit will show the city’s fund balance at a healthy 14.8 percent, and also emphasized a recent credit rating upgrade.
Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley also gave a 15-minute presentation featuring a slideshow of reviewing past projects and possible future work.
Later, Police Chief Kevin Hale asked residents to support a referendum question on the Nov. 8 election ballot to borrow up to $12 million to build a new police station on Olson Drive.
Click here to read more about that issue.
A screenshot from the new app is below.
