On Monday, July 14, the Town of Chino Valley launched an exciting new digital tool, “Chino Valley Connected”, to empower residents to easily report issues and request government services. Is there a pothole on your street? Is there a street sign down? Is there a tree limb or bush blocking the view of a stop sign? Don’t you wish there was a quick and convenient way to report it to the Town? The Town is excited to report, “Yes! There’s an app for that!”
Once downloaded, the Chino Valley Connected app allows Town of Chino Valley residents who identify repair or service needs to submit a request to town staff directly from their mobile device. They can include relevant details, location information, and even upload photos. Once submitted they can track their request as staff acknowledge its receipt, record progress, and close out the request upon completion. Residents can submit requests anonymously, or if they choose to include contact information, they can be automatically notified of the request’s progress and when it’s been completed. Residents can even receive notifications about all the requests in their community, allowing them to view, comment on, and follow issues submitted by their neighbors—not just the ones they submit. They can easily see how quickly town staff responds and resolves the requests submitted. For that reason, the platform raises the town’s aim for transparency and accountability to its residents.
Mayor Tom Armstrong is very excited about this new tool for residents to communicate with the town. “Access, transparency, and accountability are values this council hold in high regard,” said Mayor Armstrong. “The Chino Valley Connected app brings us into the digital age with a convenient way for our residents to report issues, identify repair needs, share feedback, and ask questions. They can track their requests, get updates from staff, and see when they are completed. I encourage our residents to download the app now, so it is available to them when they need it.”
In addition to all the great community benefits, Chino Valley Connected improves the town’s efficiency and effectiveness with a centralized platform to manage issues from submission to resolution and engage residents throughout the process. Managers and supervisors can log in and view the status of all the requests submitted and manage their workflow to schedule and address the request and track their own efficiency in responding. The program collects data from the requests so that staff can generate reports to view trends, identify areas of concern, schedule workflow, and plan for future budget needs.
Frank Marbury, Public Works Director echoed Mayor Armstrong’s thoughts about the convenience and accountability that the new app brings but also emphasized its value as a management tool stating, “The information we will get from the application will be extremely useful in identify hotspots and planning improvement projects, as well to better secure and allocate resources in a timely and responsive manner.”
The Chino Valley Connected application is available for all residents to download on any iOS or Android device. You also can access the system from a desktop computer via the Town of Chino Valley website at www.chinoaz.net.
For those who don’t use mobile devices, or aren’t comfortable submitting requests online, the Town will take your requests over the phone by calling Public Works at 928.636.7140 or by email at publicworksadmin@chinoaz.net. Staff will enter the request into the software on the customer’s behalf to allow for its tracking and reporting. As a result, the software will capture all requests regardless of how they are submitted, whether by phone, email, app, or online – making Chino Valley Connected a user-friendly, full-service tool for residents and town staff. Come on Chino Valley residents – get connected!
