The City of Grovetown is making it easier for residents to connect with the city.
The city recently launched the MGrovetown app, which can be downloaded for free from the Apple iTunes store and Google Play. Jordan Johnson, the public information officer for the City of Grovetown, said the city wanted to create an app as a way to bring the city into the 21st century and have a more efficient way for citizens to reach the city.
“It essentially connections the community to the city government,” Johnson said. “Citizens can file a report directly with the appropriate department. They can contact departments directly without having to go through the phone directory or search online. They can pay their bills online through the app, and it’s just essentially a more efficient way for citizens to interact with their local government.”
Citizens have been using the app since its launch, with Johnson stating the primary use so far has been to pay bills. But more than bill paying can be done on the app. Johnson said citizens can file reports for issues they see throughout the city.
“Let’s say you’re driving down the road and you see a pothole, you want to let somebody know,” Johnson said. “So instead of calling city hall, first you’re going to pull up your phone and look up the number for city hall, but instead of doing that, now what you’re going to be able to do is pull up the app (and make the report).”
Reports filed through the app are submitted between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., so if there’s an emergency, Johnson said to call 911 or the Grovetown Police Department. When the issue is submitted, it will go to the appropriate person at city hall. Issues ranging from animal control, downed power lines, downed trees, street lights being out, potholes, etc., can be reported.
“If you wanted to discreetly alert code enforcement about your neighbor who has left junk at the side of the road for six months and you’re tired of it, you could certainly submit an anonymous report through the app,” Johnson said. “We have seen a lot of code enforcement. I think it gives folks the peace of mind to file reports without any sort of push back.”
The app is free to download and use, Johnson said.
“That’s another thing we do here in Grovetown,” Johnson said “We are all about community and so we want to offer free community-based amenities and events that everyone can enjoy and this app to fee fits in with that. It’s a really great tool to connect.”
