City's new online codebook promoted by David
February 12 ,2007
From junk cars to fences, city ordinance now online
by Dan Crowley, Daily Hampshire Gazette, February 12, 2007
by Dan Crowley, Daily Hampshire Gazette, February 12, 2007
NORTHAMPTON - City residents and Internet users
around the world can now access the city's charter
and laws in cyberspace.
An updated codebook, the city's first in three decades, went online last week and can be read via city's Web site at www.northamptonma.gov.
Any question about the city's laws, zoning or otherwise, can be found in the revamped document, a product of more than a year's work by City Clerk Wendy Mazza and General Code, the Rochester, N.Y.-based company hired to synthesize the city's mind-boggling array of laws.
"It may be about fences, it may be about junk cars," said Mazza, who spearheaded the $24,570 project. "They're going to be able to go here, and they're going to be able to find the ordinance."
The home page of the city's new codebook allows for various search options, but perhaps the easiest way to navigate the information in the beginning is by clicking on the "Table of Contents" link, and then "General Legislation."
Once there, users will find an alphabetical listing of all the city's laws, from alcoholic beverages and building regulations to wetlands protection and zoning.
"People are going to find this really worthwhile," Mazza said. "I think they're going to find it really exciting the city has gone this route."
Ward 4 City Councilor David J. Narkewicz is one person who has dabbled on the site and found it useful.
"I've been using it quite frequently in a number of different scenarios," said Narkewicz who sent an email to his constituents informing them of the new system.
Narkewicz said one of his constituent recently contacted him with concerns about graffiti, and by using a simple text search on the new codebook homepage, he was able to pull up the city's laws on graffiti instantly.
"It's nice to have all this stuff at your fingertips," he said. "I think it's a great system."
Narkewicz described the new codebook as valuable resource and important investment in the city's technology infrastructure. In his email to constituents, he publicly thanked Mazza "whose office undertook the long and painstaking process of organizing, cross-referencing, and editing box upon dusty box of paper records for electronic conversion by an outside vendor."
The last overhaul of the city's codebook was in 1977, though the document was updated in 1980.
Prior to the new release last week, "the way it looked was really embarrassing," Mazza said.
While updating the city's codebook, General Code created a unique numbering system, which means that all the city's laws have been rearranged numerically. There is a table at the end of the document that correlates the old chapters, articles and sections with the newly created ones. Users can even access the laws of other cities and towns around the country who are clients of General Code.
What's more, as the city amends or creates new laws and zoning, the information will be transmitted to General Code and updated swiftly online, Mazza said.
In addition to the online version, the city is keeping bound copies of the new codebook in the clerk's office at City Hall.
Other copies should be available in the near future at Forbes and Lilly libraries. Mazza said anyone with questions about the new site can contact her at 587-1224, or by email at wmazza@northamptonma.gov.
An updated codebook, the city's first in three decades, went online last week and can be read via city's Web site at www.northamptonma.gov.
Any question about the city's laws, zoning or otherwise, can be found in the revamped document, a product of more than a year's work by City Clerk Wendy Mazza and General Code, the Rochester, N.Y.-based company hired to synthesize the city's mind-boggling array of laws.
"It may be about fences, it may be about junk cars," said Mazza, who spearheaded the $24,570 project. "They're going to be able to go here, and they're going to be able to find the ordinance."
The home page of the city's new codebook allows for various search options, but perhaps the easiest way to navigate the information in the beginning is by clicking on the "Table of Contents" link, and then "General Legislation."
Once there, users will find an alphabetical listing of all the city's laws, from alcoholic beverages and building regulations to wetlands protection and zoning.
"People are going to find this really worthwhile," Mazza said. "I think they're going to find it really exciting the city has gone this route."
Ward 4 City Councilor David J. Narkewicz is one person who has dabbled on the site and found it useful.
"I've been using it quite frequently in a number of different scenarios," said Narkewicz who sent an email to his constituents informing them of the new system.
Narkewicz said one of his constituent recently contacted him with concerns about graffiti, and by using a simple text search on the new codebook homepage, he was able to pull up the city's laws on graffiti instantly.
"It's nice to have all this stuff at your fingertips," he said. "I think it's a great system."
Narkewicz described the new codebook as valuable resource and important investment in the city's technology infrastructure. In his email to constituents, he publicly thanked Mazza "whose office undertook the long and painstaking process of organizing, cross-referencing, and editing box upon dusty box of paper records for electronic conversion by an outside vendor."
The last overhaul of the city's codebook was in 1977, though the document was updated in 1980.
Prior to the new release last week, "the way it looked was really embarrassing," Mazza said.
While updating the city's codebook, General Code created a unique numbering system, which means that all the city's laws have been rearranged numerically. There is a table at the end of the document that correlates the old chapters, articles and sections with the newly created ones. Users can even access the laws of other cities and towns around the country who are clients of General Code.
What's more, as the city amends or creates new laws and zoning, the information will be transmitted to General Code and updated swiftly online, Mazza said.
In addition to the online version, the city is keeping bound copies of the new codebook in the clerk's office at City Hall.
Other copies should be available in the near future at Forbes and Lilly libraries. Mazza said anyone with questions about the new site can contact her at 587-1224, or by email at wmazza@northamptonma.gov.