This is the Des Moines City Web Site… as captured by our friend the Wayback Machine… on November 30, 2021
And this is the site as it exists on 12/05/2021
Notice anything missing? The Search. I guess someone decided that since it doesn’t work, hey… who needs it right? 😃
It’s just a problem…
Everyone gets so cringey at all my ‘gotchas’ but here’s the thing: If we were doing a road closure, a pipe was plugged, a wire was down; we would tell the public. “Hey, something is wrong. We acknowledge that it’s a problem. We’re working on it.” Nobody’s ‘feelings’ would be hurt. It’s just a problem of City services that needs to be addressed.
By failing, over and over, for months and months to even acknowledge that there is a problem, it has sent the clear signal that there is no problem. Neither the City or my colleagues feel that it is an issue… or if it is… access to public information in no way rises to the level of any more ‘traditional’ concerns of public safety or civil engineering.
Information is a primary function of government…
I disagree. I believe that access to public information is a primary function and a primary duty of every government. Without having trustworthy access to information, one cannot have good government.
And the polite thing to do, in my opinion, would be to tell the public, “Hey, we know there are issues. We’re working on it.” But that never happens. Stuff just ‘changes’.
This puts me in a very awkward position. I have to point out this stuff because I do believe that access to public information is a primary duty of every government. Really. No. Really.
But what I have been told, repeatedly, is that somehow my complaints hurt people’s feelings. What is clear, just by seeing what happens, is that the web site is in no way considered important to the City.
So let me ask you this…
If you had a problem with code enforcement. If there was a landslide. Or a downed wire. Or any other issue of concern to you, would you give a damn about the City’s feelings? Of course not. That wouldn’t even enter into your thinking. You’re just reporting a problem. You pay taxes, the City provides services.
There is absolutely no difference.
We have a legal and ethical duty to provide the highest possible standard of access to public information… just as we have duties to provide that same QoS when it comes to public safety, roads, storm water, etc.
Making our digital presence on par with other services will require a cultural shift.
One other thing…
I want to take that one step further: It is the duty of government to always provide access to information commensurate with the current state of technology. At the risk of being even more repetitious than usual, I’m gonna repeat that because it matters.
One excuse that we’ll get is that “it’s fine the way it is.”
Absolutely not.
When we upgrade any essential service, we want to make sure that it conforms to the current best practice. When we install anything from a sidewalk to whatever, the expectation is that it will be done the best we can do it. Maybe not ‘bleeding edge’, but as close as we can afford.
Our web site is nowhere near close to best practice–regardless of budget. It simply does not meet a minimum standard of service for a corporation of our size and audience.