Stevenson, WA Leverages an Integrated CivicPlus Software Stack for Legislative Management

Nestled between the Columbia River to the south, and the mountains and Basalt Cliffs of the Gorge to the north, the City of Stevenson, Washington offers a welcome respite from the noise and congestion of large cities. Stevenson has partnered with CivicPlus^® (formerly Municode) since 1977 when it published its local government code.

Since then, the City’s leaders have added an intuitive website and agenda and meeting management software. All three of the City’s CivicPlus solutions work together, creating one unified local government solution that reaches a new level of transparency.

The most significant improvement to its local government code has been publishing it online. Staff and the community have 24/7 access to the code of ordinances on any device. When drafting legislation during a public meeting, the team at Stevenson can make changes directly to the code during the meeting. The improved workflow also keeps track of which public meeting addressed an ordinance or modifications to the code, creating easy referencing.

The staff uses CivicPlus’ Agenda and Meeting Management solution to manage and maintain their public meetings. Meetings minutes and agendas are published directly to the website after the team ends the session. The software automates their meeting process, giving staff more time to complete other essential tasks. Their meetings portal keeps all necessary documents and videos in one central location, accessible by the staff and community on any device.

The home screen features a non-scrolling design with critical links, upcoming events, and the latest news. Staff and the community can easily find information in three clicks or less. As a result, their website acts as a hub for the City’s code, agenda and meeting minutes, and other civic information. The powerful search engine brings together all three of its CivicPlus solutions. When a user searches on the website, it pulls results for content on the website, public meeting documents, and their local government code.