HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2014-11-13 new website
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Leesburg Launches New and Improved Website
Website features mobile-friendly design, easier navigation, links to
social media, and greater government transparency
Leesburg, VA (November 13, 2014) – At the Leesburg Town Council Meeting on Monday,
November 10, 2014, Town staff unveiled the new Town website (www.leesburgva.gov).
Key features of the new website include:
• Mobile-friendly “responsive design” that automatically adjusts page elements in
response to the screen sizes of devices such as tablets and mobile phones.
• “Megamenus” that show two levels of page navigation at a glance.
• Links to the Town’s social media accounts.
• Quick link menus for Find, Pay and Request that can be edited based on seasonal
demand or topics of high interest.
• Portal to the new OpenGov online budget information platform.
The new website was designed by Vision Internet, a California-based internet design company
that specializes in government websites. Vision Internet also designed the Town’s previous
website which launched in 2008.
“One of the driving factors in the need for a new website was the increase in mobile device
usage,” explained Kaj Dentler, Leesburg Town Manager. “Both the Town Council and members
of the Technology and Communications Commission had previously expressed concerns that
the Town was not keeping up with the digital times.”
“The new website is a significant improvement over the old site. Residents will find it much
easier to navigate and the site offers more opportunities for residents to interact with the Town
government,” Dentler continued. “Our staff team, including IT Manager Annie Carlson, Web
Technologies Administrator Kathleen Finnegan and Research & Communications Manager Betsy
Fields, worked hand-in-hand with the Vision Internet team over the past several months to
bring the new website online. I am very proud of their hard work and dedication to provide our
residents with enhanced website capabilities.”
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As part of the new website, the Town also launched a new financial data platform powered by
OpenGov that provides residents and Town officials unprecedented access to the Town’s
budget information. The powerful visualization software transforms volumes of raw data into
insight and information which enables better analysis and understanding of the Town’s budget.
The OpenGov platform displays five years of government spending and revenue detail in a user-
friendly portal directly accessed at https://leesburgva.opengov.com. Residents and staff can
drill down into the current year budget and compare to previous years through interactive
graphs that easily explain revenue and expenses by fund, department and type.
The new platform is part of a wider initiative to bring more transparency and access to the
Town’s finances. Leesburg was recently awarded a Virginia Government Finance Officer’s
Association (VGFOA) Innovations Award for the development of an outstanding program in the
area of budgeting and financial planning.
About Vision Internet: Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., Vision Internet is a national
leader in government website development with more than 500 government, non-profit and
education clients in U.S. and Canadian communities with populations that range from less than
1,000 residents to more than 5 million. The company creates cost-effective solutions that
increase government efficiency, transparency and interactive communications with citizens.
Over the past 18 years, the company has earned hundreds of prestigious awards for its unique
websites, including numerous 3CMA Savvy Awards. In 2013, Vision Internet launched
visionCMS™, a powerful, easy to use content management system developed with feedback
from hundreds of municipal clients. For more information visit www.visioninternet.com.
About OpenGov, Inc.: OpenGov is a financial data platform that advances the way state and
local governments do business. By transforming the way budget data is accessed, visualized,
and analyzed, OpenGov enables government administrators to make smarter, data-driven
decisions and empowers the public with meaningful information about their government’s
finances. The OpenGov platform provides instant online access to the budget, and interactively
displays current and historic revenue and expenses down to the department and object level.
The expanding OpenGov network includes more than 175 leading governments across 30 states.
Learn more at http://opengov.com/.
Contact:
Betsy Fields
Research & Communications Manager
bfields@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2734
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