New-look Town website launched

Cost of redesign was $12,000

With the flourish of a recorded drum roll and banging on desks, Mayor Rick Bonnette launched a new-look Town of Halton Hills website, last week. "I think it look great; it's a big improvement from what we had," said the mayor. "I like the personal pictures, and the real people-- it's much more friendlier." Webmaster Kevin Brandon introduced the new website-- www.haltonhills.ca-- to Halton Hills council at last week's meeting. "The website is decidedly different from the other website in terms of the home page," said Brandon, the Town's full-time webmaster. "We want the website to be a community resource for everything Halton Hills." The new home page, he said, is all about Halton Hills-- from photos highlighting residents, businesses and places to the current weather forecast, calendar and community events. The redesign, approved last year at a cost of $12,000, focuses on faces, nature and the small-town character of the community. At the same time, finding information on community events, online services and announcements will be easier to find. E-mail subscription and RSS (really simple syndication) feeds, Google search engine are available. With a click of a button, residents can use the online services such as: · recreational and library program registration, · tracking your physical activity · bids and tenders, · business licensing and permits through BizPal · payment of traffic tickets through pay tickets.ca, and eventually even parking ticket payments. The website will also be used as a way to encourage feedback from citizens on issues facing the community. "The plan is to expand the online services," said Brandon, noting that the website is built with the latest technologies to allow future growth and expansion. Seniors, accessibility advisory committee and others have had an opportunity to provide input in the development of the redesign.