Calif. county is ready to route service to citizens

Nevada County, Calif., is ready to begin using routing software to link its Web pages to the county’s databases, as part of its Citizen Relationship Management initiative.E-work software from Metastorm of Severna Park, Md., works with the county’s existing Novell databases so citizens’ questions or complaints will go directly to one of 30 county departments instead of getting lost in paperwork or going to the county’s network administrator.“Right now we’ve built three prototypes we’re just starting to roll out,” said Steve Monaghan, Nevada County’s CIO. “Every county employee will use this system.”Eventually, users will conduct all county business online, including registering cars and pets, paying taxes and, in the case of county employees, filling out time sheets.The first prototype, rolling out next month, is for external user requests such as complaints or questions. The second prototype will route interdepartmental requests, and the third will be for intradepartmental business.Nevada County built the first prototype after purchasing the software for $200,000 last December. Next month it will activate its Web site with the initial routing capability, directing questions and comments to appropriate departments.