Contact: Donna Bigler, 240-777-6537
For Immediate Release: July 18, 2000
Duncan Launches eMontgomery;
Enabling Citizens to Apply for Permits
And Jobs and Pay Taxes Online
County Executive Douglas M. Duncan today took County services into cyberspace, launching the first stage of eMontgomery, the County's online interactive services for citizens. The initial phase of this program will allow citizens who have access to a computer and the Internet to track permits, apply for jobs, and pay their property taxes - all from the convenience of home. The service will also enable citizens to go online to renew library materials, lease space in public facilities and view live traffic video at specific intersections.
"Last year, I promised that we would improve services by making it easier for our residents to conduct County business at any time of the day or night - without ever having to leave their homes or offices," said Duncan. "Today, I am pleased to announce that our residents can conduct a host of business transactions online. By the end of summer, more than a dozen new services will be added to the lineup, which should significantly boost the convenience of eMontgomery's online offerings."
In this initial phase of eMontgomery, residents will need to have their property tax bills - which will be mailed out August 1 -- in hand to use as a reference if they wish to pay online. The system will eventually allow residents to look up current and past tax bills online.
By September 1, eMontgomery services will expand to include the sale of Ride-On and Metro passes, taxi vouchers for senior citizens, subscription orders for the County Code, and registration and payment for Recreation classes. "When fully implemented, eMontgomery will make the need to travel to a County government facility a thing of the past," Duncan said. "Some 70 percent of our residents have personal computers, access to the Internet and are conducting business online. We need to change our ways of doing things in order to respond to our customers' needs."
While noting the electronic commerce offerings being made by the County - as well as the high percentage of its residents who are online - Duncan did express concern about the growing divide between those with Internet access and those without it.
"The excitement of this announcement is tempered only by the reality that not everyone in our community has access to a computer and the Internet," Duncan noted. "Bridging the digital divide should be one of our highest priorities, and I am hopeful that the County Council will approve my plan for addressing this important issue."
The ambitious $6.5 million plan proposed by Duncan in May to "bridge the digital divide" for Montgomery County's neediest residents includes computers, training, Duncan Launches eMontgomery internet access and job placement services. With full funding, the three-and-a-half-year public/private partnership will help level the playing field for more than 230 families.
The online eMontgomery system is accessible from a button located at the top right of the Montgomery County government home page -- www.co.mo.md.us - a site that Duncan launched in December 1995 with his vision that it would bring information about County services directly to residents on a 24-hour basis.
In May 1999, Duncan announced plans to make services more accessible to citizens by making the online system interactive, requesting $1.1million in funding from the County Council to develop the program. Although the initiative was not fully funded, the project is on track and moving forward with plans to add a variety of new interactive services during the coming year.
The County designed the eMontgomery system under contracts with APPNET of Bethesda and Allied Communications, Inc. (ACI) of Rockville.
Currently Available
Track building permits
Apply for jobs
Pay property taxes
Renew library materials
Lease space in public facilities
View live traffic video at specific intersections
Search Procurement contract database, view pending awards/bids, subscribe to RAPID system
Available August 2000
Register & pay for Recreation classes
Obtain Ride On & transit passes
Obtain taxi vouchers for senior citizens
Subscription orders for County Code
County Resource Locator (searchable database)
Available Sept. 2000
"MAPQUEST" directions to all County facilities from point of origin
Department of Housing & Community Affairs:
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