Clovis wants to hear from you online

Living in Clovis, we get this free publication in the mail, Connecting with Clovis, which comes out quarterly. The latest issue contains an article from City Manager Kathy Millison about a new online automatic message form.

According to the article, "With the growing size of the city, it has been necessary to find ways to streamline the process for responding to citizen requests without sacrificing accountability and effecty response."

I'm testing the responsiveness of the new form. First, in the interest of being positive about my community, which I really enjoy, I submitted a compliment about the beautiful wildflowers blooming around town just a few weeks ago. Then I submitted a complaint, or inquiry really, about some graffiti/campaign advertising along Clovis Avenue. In bright red paint on a cinder-block wall, between Gettysburg and Ashlan avenues, it says, "Vote 4 Bill for Clovis School Board."

I'll let you know how soon I hear back from the city. But if it's an effective means of relaying information to city officials, other Valley cities could learn from the example. I think a lot of citizens like the idea of being able to communicate on their own timeline. I, personally, don't like taking care of business over the phone. I welcome this kind of interaction to solve problems, when I'm in the mood to deal with things, even if it's 11 p.m. at night.