Town of Newmarket's new digital strategy aims to improve customer service

The plan includes a new municipal website and self-service portal to centralize resident customer service, although those are not expected until 2024 or 2025

Newmarkettoday.ca
Jan. 31, 2022
Joseph Quigley

Newmarket is highlighting its plans to transform itself digitally and make its services more accessible to the public online.

The town announced the finalization of its digital transformation strategy Jan. 27, approved by the municipal council in November. The new strategy aims to improve the town’s digital services to residents and find new operational efficiencies.

The town will implement the strategy over the next five years.

“We are excited to be moving forward with the digital transformation strategy that will guide the town to enhance the town’s current service delivery practices for our residents,” Mayor John Taylor said.

The town re-examined its digital services in 2019 when a service delivery review found a need for greater digital enablement. That led the town to pursue a new digital strategy that underwent a public consultation and a council process last year.

The strategy, funded through the province’s audit and accountability fund, will include a new municipal website and a self-service portal to centralize resident customer service, although those are not expected until 2024 or 2025. The town also aims to improve operational efficiency by improving data management, file management and cross-department awareness.

“With this strategy, the town will be able to realize efficiencies, reduce costs through digitization and continue to build and support an innovative foundation for a future-ready Newmarket that is in line with council’s priority in long-term financial sustainability,” Taylor said.

The town said the strategy has a vision to make it as easy as possible to access information related to the town, create better engagement, internally automate processes to reduce duplication and improve residents’ ability to digitally interact with town services.

You can view the strategy and follow its progress online through the municipal website.