Effective today (Tuesday, June 10), Monroe County has eliminated its digital communication system, SeeClickFix.
Therefore, all SeeClickFix users will no longer be able to access the system. However, all active SeeClickFix requests have been forwarded to the departments that they were intended for and will be responded to as promptly as possible.
The move comes nearly two months after Monroe County Commissioners unanimously approved on Tuesday, April 15 to eliminate SeeClickFix.
Monroe County Public Information Officer Richard Dumas said on April 15 that the county’s annual contract with Civic Plus, the company that provides SeeClickFix, was up for renewal in May at a cost of $19,232.78. Dumas said at the time there were currently only 81 registered users who had made a total of about 170 requests over the past several years. There were some other anonymous requests from unregistered users for a total number of requests of around 240 as of April 15. Dumas said if Monroe County receives 240 requests over the next year, it would cost the county about $80 per request, which he said isn’t cost-effective for Monroe County.
Monroe County Public Works Director Kimbel Stokes, whose department receives about 70 percent of the SeeClickFix requests, said he likes the system because it provides time-stamp documentation of citizen needs for his department. However, Stokes said it’s clear from the data that citizens prefer using e-mail or phone to reach out to county department heads and Commissioners rather than using SeeClickFix. Stokes said he agrees with Dumas that renewing the system is not a cost-effective option for the county.
After about five minutes of discussion, District 3 Commissioner John Ambrose motioned to terminate the county’s contract with Civic Plus for SeeClickFix, which was seconded by District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland and approved 5-0.
Monroe County will continue to evaluate other options for digital communications to replace SeeClickFix.
