One possibly overlooked feature of the Minneapolis web site might be the search box at the top of the home page. I just typed "planning commission" (include quotes) and it took me straight there.
I've generally found the city web site to be pretty well-designed, at least compared to other levels of government - try finding something on some of the county or state agency sites - horrors! :-) My favorite feature is the way the "services" page has cross-references to anticipate different ways that visitors might think about things. For example, if you have an old fridge to get rid of, you'll find a listing under "A" for "Appliance Disposal" that will take you to the Solid Waste and Recycling home page. So those who aren't totally familiar with city department names can still find what they need. Kudos to the city departments for being so user-friendly! My least favorite feature is the way the code of ordinances is presented. I seriously wish Minneapolis would drop their contract with Municode.com and do this in-house. They could follow the model for how state statutes are presented by the Office of Revisor of Statutes. It's so much better! Even if it might cost more to do in-house, it'd be well worth it! Municode.com's site always seems to be glitchy and the search protocol they use does not seem very comprehensive - in these times of understaffed departments like Inspections, that could be a big problem for a business or landlord who wants to make sure they're doing everything that's required of them. Somehow I doubt that when the inspector does finally come around, the excuse that "I didn't see that in the city code when I checked online" isn't going to cut it. Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
