Medford, Massachusetts, Implemented a Modern Digital Code Hosting System with CivicPlus®

Medford, Massachusetts, found itself stuck in the past with how it handled its public documents and code of ordinances. The City wanted to move its public documents to an online system in an effort to modernize residents’ access to public information.  Before partnering with CivicPlus (formerly Municode), all of Medford’s documents and ordinances were only accessible in hard copies. This meant members of the community would need to either travel to City Hall or call in a request to obtain the information they needed.

Responding to requests for code of ordinances and other public records was no easy task as it entailed looking through various filing cabinets or on shelves to find a single ordinance or document. Some requests would take a few days to fill, leaving residents waiting for the information they needed. Medford’s leaders decided they needed to embrace digital transformation and move their code online.

Medford enlisted the help of Municode (now CivicPlus), its codification partner since 1996. Along with full-service codification, the City now utilizes a joint public document and code of ordinances portal. The public documents hosted within the platform are primarily meeting minutes, which consist of over 500 documents. While this sounds like a long process to upload this many documents, the platform can upload multiple documents at once. To make navigating each document easier, a table of contents is provided on the left-hand side, which is organized by year.

There is also a search bar that enables the searching of both public documents and the City’s code of ordinances simultaneously, allowing for simple retrieval of more specific information. The online code boasts more features than just the code such as recent changes, pending amendments, and previous versions, granting the community a detailed timeline of how their code has changed or will change. Any document or ordinance can be shared via document or link and can also be printed, giving staff an easy and fast way to send information if residents still need help locating what they need.