Now you can talk to City Hall on your computer

ST. PETERSBURG -- Don't ask for recipes, as one person recently did on the telephone version of City Hall's action center.

But if, for example, you have a pothole or a load of curbside trash, you now can use a computer to get a repair job or a haulaway.

Find the city's Action Online at www.stpete.org. Click on icon near the upper left-hand corner and you'll get a menu allowing you to enter a request, type in a complaint or check the status of an existing request. Soon, you'll also be able to e-mail an opinion on city issues using the same service.

The idea is to expand the ways residents communicate with city government, said Ellen McDowell, administrative services officer.

Running since about Nov. 30, Action Online already has received 3,492 queries. Trash, code enforcement and abandoned vehicles are among the more popular subjects, McDowell said -- although residents managed to use the service to project their opinions regarding the recent firing of former police Chief Mack Vines.

The service costs the city $2,850 a year, McDowell said.

"You wouldn't believe the requests I'm getting," she said.

They've included requests for event schedules and general information about the city from someone thinking of moving here from Oregon. Another person asked how to get a death certificate.

But generally, computer users go to a list of alphabetized categories when they enter a request. Alley trims, bridge repairs, dead fish removal, graffiti, sewer lines, traffic calming and "other" are among about 55 categories offered. (The "Z" categories at the list's bottom are for city administrative use.)

McDowell routes the e-mails to the appropriate city department. Public service representatives assigned to geographic zones also check out the information. E-mails are assigned a number, which the sender can use later to check on a request's status. E-mailers don't have to give their names.

"We're trying to have a quick turnaround. Five days, either closed or resolved or have an answer for you," McDowell said.

St. Petersburg is among 33 cities in the United States and Canada using the service, McDowell said. The telephone action center has operated for 15 years, receiving an average of more than 8,000 calls per month, officials say.

Meanwhile, the city's overall Web site -- the www.stpete.org address -- receives about 35,000 hits per day, including about 61 from foreign nations, according to the city's marketing department.

It was recently ranked by the U.S. Center for Digital Government and Government Technology magazine as the eighth best site in the nation, the department said.

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