Binghamton residents and University students can now connect to city services with the click of a button.
Last Thursday, Binghamton Mayor Rich David announced the launch of City of Binghamton, an app that allows citizens to make requests for various city services. According to Deputy Mayor Jared Kraham, the purpose of the app is to help residents to get in contact with City Hall more easily. Previously, residents would have to send an email or call a public dispatch.
“The app puts City Hall into the palm of [city residents’] hands,” Kraham said. “We want citizens to be comfortable with submitting requests to the city, and this allows them to quickly and easily do this.”
Users can submit a request by choosing categories such as pothole, streetlights, graffiti or traffic issue to make a report. The app uses a GPS tracking system to pinpoint the exact location of the sight. Users can send a description of what should be improved and also attach a picture of the grievance.
After each request is sent in, City Hall members respond through an organized management system and the citizens who made the requests will receive real-time updates on the status of the improvement through mobile push notifications.
David said his office is utilizing new mobile technology to expand the relationship between Binghamton’s government and its residents.
“For too long, local governments have lagged behind advances in technology,” David said. “I’m committed to embracing new tools and systems and build Binghamton’s reputation as a leader in municipal technology.”
Along with submitting requests for changes, app users can utilize other in-app widgets. People can view other users’ requests, scroll through the latest news from City Hall, view available public parking spaces, visit the Facebook page BingSpot, a lifestyle guide for Downtown Binghamton, and tweet at Mayor David. A contact page for city representatives is also located within the app.
Lital Sarig, an undeclared sophomore who is moving off campus next semester, said she thinks this app will be beneficial to University students.
“I’m sure that if there was something wrong it would probably get fixed faster if people said something about it sooner,” Sarig said. “If I had the app and noticed something wrong Downtown, I would use it.”
According to Kraham, roughly 80 requests have been sent through the app so far with over 600 downloads as of Monday.
“We want a good relationship with students living in the city of Binghamton,” Kraham said. “Residents should be able to easily connect to City Hall and know that we’re just as advanced in technology as the students are.”
The app uses a platform from PublicStuff, a software development company that uses mobile technology to help connect local governments with residents. According to their website, PublicStuff is currently being used in over 250 cities worldwide, including Philadelphia and Tallahassee. The city of Binghamton began working with the company six months ago and since then, they have worked to build the platform and test it.
Surya Yalamanchili, CEO of PublicStuff, said he is excited to bring the city of Binghamton on as a partner and help integrate technology into their government.
“This is further evidence of the city of Binghamton’s strong commitment to being responsive to the needs of their community,” Yalamanchili said.