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NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 28, 2000 CARY’S STILL "GOLDEN" CARY, NC – North Carolina’s "Technology Town" has for the second year running been given the Golden Web Award by the International Association of Web Masters and Designers, a private organization dedicated to the recognition of creativity, integrity and excellence on the World Wide Web. Using a 10-point scale with 10 being the highest rating, members of the group evaluate the design, originality, and content of websites submitted for consideration. Sites that receive a 21-point or higher rating become "Golden". The IAWMD is dedicated to Internet education and awareness, anti-Spam awareness and support, and fighting child access to Internet pornography. The group strives to achieve these goals through member activity, free site evaluations, a newsletter, and the web awards program. With about 55,000 files and nearly 1,000 hits a day from more than 40 countries, the Town of Cary’s site is today a leader in local government web services. "We very proud to again receive this recognition for our efforts," said Cary’s Webmaster Neil Ghodke. Ghodke credited the hard work of staff at all levels in the organization for making the Town’s site so effective. Cary’s fulltime webmaster works with the Town’s Technology Services team—soon to include a second web specialist--to handle the technical aspects of the site while Cary’s Public Information Officer works with Town staff and Town Council on the content portion of the site. In addition, Cary’s Information Services Advisory Board—a Council-appointed citizen’s group—acts as a focus group for the site, offering comments and new ideas on ways to keep the site current and useful to it’s many types of users. "The web continues to serve as the Town’s primary communications vehicle," said Cary’s Public Information Officer Susan Moran. "While we will always use a number of different ways to reach our citizens, more people in Cary have access to the Internet than they do to cable television or read the local newspaper." A 2000 study by the Town indicated that about 85 percent of Cary residents had access to the Internet at home or at work, that’s up from 78 percent in 1998 and nearly twice the national average according to some reports. During the next month, the Town will begin making its mapping data—Geographic Information System or GIS—available on the site. The Town also plans to add video files and online utility billing as well as online parks, recreation, and cultural resources registration. This is in addition to the third major overhaul of the site to be completed this fiscal year, designed to move the site to a topic, or porthole, orientation. The Town’s website was originally developed in May of 1997 for the primary purpose of sending information to Town Council electronically and, thus, eliminating the distribution of paper packets used by most governments. Since that time, everyone—citizens, media, Town staff and elected officials—has been able to get Council meeting agendas and supplemental materials online at the same moment--about seven days prior to most meetings. With computers at their table, the Council even uses the web agenda materials during their actual meetings at Town Hall. In addition to the agenda materials, current features include:
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