Residents can also now sign up for email or text alerts from the township.
Those who regularly visit www.mountlaurel.com might have been surprised recently to find a completely redesigned municipal website for Mt. Laurel loading on their computer or device.
The idea of a redesign for the township’s website was announced by township officials in March when the township reviewed competing proposals from website developers who answered a request from the township to modernize its online presence.
With the township’s newly redesigned homepage now launched, residents are immediately faced with large, easy-to-read tabs against a background of rotating photographs showcasing well-known landmarks in town.
With the immediately identifiable tabs, residents can learn how to contact a specific department, read more about the township and its government or explore the “How Do I?” tab to quickly answer common questions, such as how residents can pay taxes, download forms or read the township’s official codebook.
Acting township manager Meredith Tomczyk said the new site also provides the ability for residents to now sign up for electronic notifications the township can send directly to residents through texts and email.
Residents can choose from a list of notifications they wish to receive, including alerts about issues in town that might immediately impact their lives, such as road closures, snow events and trash delays.
In addition, residents can choose to receive notifications about news and upcoming happenings, such as new polling locations or the release of the township’s yearly event schedule.
Residents can even set alerts to let them know when the township has a new agenda posted for upcoming township meetings, such as council and zoning board, or when the township has released a request for proposals and bids.
“For us, we wanted to have the best communication with residents as possible. We don’t want residents to be caught unaware that a road is closing or that trash collection is being delayed a day,” Tomczyk said. “We were looking for ways to improve our communication with residents, and council wanted residents to have enough of an advance notice that they could make arrangements.”
In addition to receiving alerts, residents can also use the new website to alert the township of non-emergency issues.
Similar to the previously utilized “SeeClickFix” service on the old website, through the new website residents can help the township respond to issues.
Just some of the non-emergency issues residents can report include potholes, white-goods pick up, recycling issues, tire pickups, potential zoning and code enforcement violations, dead animal removal and more.
Residents can also choose to upload an image related to the issue they’re reporting, as well as drag a marker along a map of the township to help officials know exactly where to send the appropriate municipal employees.
“They can report anything to the township 24 hours a day using the website and it will come through to us,” Tomczyk said.
In addition to those newer features, Tomczyk said the website also continues to provide residents with the services and features they’re used to accessing.
Residents and local business officials can still download more than 60 forms they might need for their day-to-day lives, such as dog and cat license applications, marriage and civil union license applications, applications for certified copies of a vital record, business registration applications, planning and zoning board applications and more.
Residents can also continue to pay their taxes online, view upcoming ordinances to be voted on by township council and find contact information for various municipal departments.
The website also continues to feature information about the township’s clubs and nonprofit organizations, and helpful information for new residents.
“We’ve tried to improve and update all information on each department’s page and we tried to make things easier for residents to find,” Tomczyk said.
