City of Cambridge Has a New Website
Mary Beth Schwartz, Cambridge Correspondent
Cambridge has a new website that came online earlier this year. If you have not had the chance to explore it, there are helpful links and information available that can make your life easier.
I learned a lot about the website in my conversation with Sandra McKee, City Clerk, and Brandie Lincoln, Deputy Clerk. Brandie was hired in March of 2024, and one of the main projects that Sandra assigned to her was creating a new website. Some citizens may wonder why the city needed a new website. The old website wasn’t able to be updated, was no longer user friendly and people were unable to access the website on their phones, which is how many people like to pay their bills.
The city chose CivicPlus as their platform. The cost to the city to set-up their website through CivicPlus was around $5,000, plus an annual fee. CivicPlus hosts the website and creates the format. They cater to government and work with many other cities. CivicPlus builds the basics, does the coding and all of the background and then the city goes in and adds the content. The annual fee covers the cost of the domain and monitoring done by CivicPlus. In addition, they do maintenance of the website, so if Brandie needs to make a change or do an update, she is able to contact them. Brandie stated, “It’s a very slick system and they’re really good to work with.”
The fact that CivicPlus is government specific helps a lot. They understand the rules and regulations that the city has to follow. This helps the city to stay compliant to those rules and regulations. One of the reasons that CivicPlus was chosen to platform the website was because of their ability to keep the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance up to date. Staying current with ADA compliance is crucial in making sure that all needs are being met.
One of the many benefits of the website is that you can pay your utility bill online. Paying online is convenient, but not free. There is a fee associated with paying your bill online. The fee is for the processing of a credit card or an ACH transaction. Some people prefer not to pay this fee, and those people can still pay their bill with a check. However, if a person is on vacation or out of town for a while, the option of paying online is handy.
Many of the city’s forms are now available online. These forms include catering permits, building permits and others. In the past, if someone needed a form, they had to go to the city and fill out a paper form. If you were out of town, this added more time to the process. With some things, the payment can also be done online.
Under the government tab there are many options, including the city’s meeting minutes and the agendas. These are important for those who want to be more aware of what is happening in Cambridge. Brandie said that they would love for people to become better informed and more involved in what is going on in the city. For people who are planning to build, or just want to know more about the city codes, like regulations, zoning and other items, there is a link that you will take you directly to the codes.
The city owns the museum and the website dedicates a section to the museum. Under the museum tab you will find the Idaho Certified Local Government Program Handbook and the Washington County Historic Preservation Plan. With time, more content will be added.
Under the community tab you will find a multitude of links to follow including the Commercial Club, The Record Reporter, The Weiser Signal, Cambridge School District and others.
If you need to contact the city, there is a “Contact Us” tab where you can submit a request, or email Sandra, Brandie, or others. An email sent through this link is labeled differently when it is received by the city and so it is easy for them to see that it has came through the “Contact Us” tab.
When I asked what their favorite things are about the website, Brandie’s automatic reply was, “You can pay online, plus, the availability of forms and permits.” Sandra likes the fact that the website is really user friendly when talking to citizens on the phone, compared to the old website. This makes a big difference when talking to people who want to pay remotely. Once you have set up your account, then you can track your own billing in an easy to interpret format. Some people like the option of having their bills emailed to them, and then they can pay their bill with a check.
To find and explore the new website go to cambridge.id.gov. I know that you will find many items of interest including “Pay My Bill” and other useful tools and links.
