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Welcome to the new Town of Wayland municipal website!
The Town has partnered with Virtual Town Hall to provide the format and platform for our upgraded website. VTH hosts and manages websites for hundreds of municipal governments, regional authorities, and government associations throughout the northeastern United States. The latest VTH platform provides the features most often suggested by citizens and we have incorporated these improvements in the upgraded website.
Across the top of the home page are tabs for town departments and boards and committees, with a drop-down feature allowing easy access to each webpage. For every department or committee, you will find information presented in a common format listing key personnel or a roster of committee members, links to meeting agenda and minutes, regulations, forms or other relevant documents. To the extent possible, minutes have been posted of meeting dating to September 2009, so as new material is added to a webpage, the content will build and create an archive. The "About Wayland" tab contains a narrative history of the town, statistical information, and links to the website of the Wayland Business Association and a number of community philanthropic, religious and civic organizations.
Just below the list of departments and committees, you will find a red banner. It will be used to post urgent notices, with links to more detailed information. With the launch of the website, the timely notice of a water conservation order is posted.
Not sure where to find specific information? The new website contains three ways to locate information. First, you will find a search box located in the upper right-hand portion of the home page with the capability of scanning posted documents in addition to the website itself. A second method can be found on the left-hand side of the home page. Go to the top heading called Town Resources and find a feature called "Where Do I Go For?". It is a tool that guides you to the right department or committee from a menu of subjects and topics. The third option is to search for documents, forms and meeting agenda and minutes using the links in this column. The same information aggregated here can be found on the individual department or committee webpages.
Town Resources also features a municipal government telephone directory and information on hours of operation and directions to Town Building. Just below Town Resources, you will find Quick Links - easy connections to partner organization websites including the Wayland Housing Authority, Wayland Free Public Library and Wayland Public Schools.
Quick Links also contains two new features. If you click on the "Contact Us" link, you will navigate to a page that lets you leave a comment or ask a question on any matter concerning Town government. You have 18 subject areas from which to choose, so your comment or question is directed to the person best positioned to respond or act on your concern. By clicking on "Subscribe to E-Alerts", you can enter your email address and receive an automatic message whenever "Town News" is posted on the home page. These are the same timely news briefs listed on the right-hand side of the home page, just above the calendar that links to meetings of boards and committees and special events.
We hope you find the updated website customer-friendly, easy to navigate, and most of all, informative. The quality of the website is a direct function of the information provided and the ease to find it. Suggestions for content or layout are encouraged. Use the "Contact Us" feature or email me directly at fturkington@wayland.ma.us with your comments. In the near future, we expect to add to the items to which you can subscribe to receive an e-alert, offer enhanced GIS and mapping features, and allow citizens to complete and submit certain forms online to complete some transactions now conducted at Town Building. In the meanwhile, I hope you find the updated website useful and I look forward to receiving suggestions so we can make continuous improvements.
Fred Turkington
Town Administrator
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