Millburn Township Enhances Resident Engagement and Operational Efficiency with CivicPlus Integrated Solutions

Nestled in a vibrant and dynamic community, Millburn Township is a shining example of how local governments can use technology to foster connectivity and streamline operations. With a lean but dedicated administrative team, the Township has leveraged CivicPlus solutions to overcome challenges, improve accessibility, and create a more seamless experience for its residents.

The Challenge: Navigating Growing Demands with Limited Resources

In 2022, Millburn Township faced a familiar challenge: meeting the growing demands of an increasingly tech-savvy population with limited personnel and resources. The township’s communications efforts were led by a single individual, the Public Information Officer (PIO), Kristina Sternesky, who is responsible for managing all aspects of public outreach, including website management, social media, press releases, and visual content production.

“Within my role, I write and distribute the press releases to journalists and share them on our personal communication channels. I maintain and edit the website. I create a majority of the graphics for our website and social as well. I also do the photography and videography for any real-time events. For instance, we have a video series that went out about pedestrian safety where I recorded myself safely walking across the street and putting up statistics,” she elaborated.

While Sternesky’s administrative and creative skills are impressive, she needed support. The challenge was not just about doing more with less, it was about doing it better and having the tools to work smarter. The Township needed to modernize its digital infrastructure to meet residents where they were: online. Ensuring accessibility, compliance with public records laws, and providing a cohesive digital experience across platforms became central to Millburn’s strategic goals.

The Solution: A Holistic Approach to Resident Engagement and Communication

To address these challenges, Millburn Township turned to CivicPlus, leveraging a suite of solutions that included Municipal Websites, Social Media Archiving, and NextRequest. Together, these tools have empowered the Township to align its operations with one technology partner, enhance resident interactions, and improve operational efficiency.

At the heart of Millburn Township’s digital transformation was the redesign of its website, with Municipal Websites. Spearheaded by Sternesky, this project aimed to make the website more intuitive, accessible, and visually appealing. The redesign focused on addressing long-standing issues, such as:

• Eliminating Redundancy: The old site was cluttered with duplicate links and outdated pages. The new design streamlined navigation, ensuring that residents could find what they needed quickly and efficiently.
• Optimizing Resident Experience: A goal to reduce the number of clicks visitors take to find what they are looking for was adopted to ensure that users can access key information with ease, creating a faster and more intuitive browsing and viewing experience.
• Enabling Online Interactions: Non-fillable PDFs were replaced with dynamic, fillable forms, making interactions easier for residents and reducing administrative follow-ups.

Millburn Township created an information hub through which all information sharing begins and ends. The latest news section hosts the most relevant day-to-day information with residents and includes graphics tailored to each news item to reflect the varying information shared. Use of two different calendar systems—upcoming meetings and community events—also separates official Township meeting schedules and fun community-based activities in a way that is easy to understand and track. Additionally, visitors can sign up for the Notify Me feature straight from the homepage and choose to be alerted when a new meeting agenda is posted, a calendar event is shared, a news flash item is released, or when bid and job postings are added.

The website update also allowed the Township to switch from paper-based forms to digital fillable PDF forms, granting residents and other stakeholders a better way to submit their application requests. The Township also took the digital capabilities one step forward and enabled online payment options for taxes and sewer bills, as well as a concern reporting portal, known as SDL, through which residents can easily submit requests and issues to Township staff without having to come in person or talk over the phone.

In keeping with the theme of making the Township website a central information hub and single source of truth, residents can access four main social media channels right from the homepage: Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

The Township also encourages residents to sign up for their alert system, known as Millburn Alert, through the Popular Links section of the website to receive road closure, weather, and other safety alerts. With all the communication channels linked through the website, it creates an easy way to cross-share information and redirect residents back to the homepage of the website no matter which venue they initially receive the information from.

As Sternesky explained “What goes on the website might be the lengthiest version, and then from there we cut down for Facebook and Instagram and then cut further for Twitter and if it goes through our Millburn Alert safety system, it gets cut even further, so it’s more of a multi-tiered messaging than it is conformed messaging.”

Further, over the course of 6 months, an analysis of the existing website revealed which pages were among the most frequently visited and the new homepage was designed accordingly with new graphic buttons and a popular links section. High impact visuals were added as well to make the website more dynamic and promote the natural beauty of the community. Paired with a new color scheme to better reflect the Township’s brand, the website transformed from a generic document hosting portal into a vibrant and accessible site where visitors can gather reliable information.

The Website Impact: Transforming the Resident Experience – in Three Clicks or Less

One of the most significant advantages of partnering with CivicPlus is that the solutions align and empower multi-faceted communication strategies that work together seamlessly. For Millburn Township, the launch of their CivicPlus solutions has delivered measurable benefits:

1. Enhanced Metrics Tracking: Website traffic (27% increase in monthly page views), social media engagement metrics, and new user growth are consistently trending upward, reflecting the success of the township’s digital transformation.
2. Time Savings: With CivicPlus tools, the PIO has significantly reduced the time spent gathering data for annual reports and audits, allowing for a more strategic focus.
3. Improved Self-Service: Residents now have access to critical information and services online, reducing the need for phone inquiries and in-person visits.
4. Resident Satisfaction in Three Clicks: The “three-click” and “30-second” rules were adopted, significantly enhancing the user experience.
5. Strategic Communications: The Township has been able to implement new communication strategies while keeping the website at the forefront of their communication plan.

The impact was immediate and measurable. Within months of the redesign, the Township reported a 27% increase in monthly page views, a clear indicator of improved engagement and usability. Residents benefited from a modern, mobile-first platform that seamlessly provided information, services, and updates.

Sternesky reflected on the goals for the website redesign: “If residents can’t find what they need within three clicks, it’s not the experience we want to offer. Additionally, a lot of information these days is sort of built around the 30-second rule. Everyone’s scrolling on Instagram, you watch a video for 10-15 seconds and you move on. So, the main rule that I’ve lived by is to put as much as you can in the lead without making it too wordy,” she says.

The new website serves as an anchor for the Township’s broader communication plan, which aims to share accurate information quickly and effectively via media channels residents commonly use.

The Social Media Impact: Saving Time While Ensuring Compliance with Social Media Archiving

With public records laws evolving, the township needed to address compliance with Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests related to social media content. By implementing CivicPlus’ Social Media Archiving solution, Millburn Township achieved the following:

• Preparedness for Requests: Social media posts, comments, and interactions are now stored in an easily accessible archive, streamlining responses to OPRA requests.
• Enhanced Data Insights: The tool provides detailed metrics on resident engagement, allowing the PIO to refine messaging strategies based on real-time data.

While the township has not yet received specific OPRA requests related to archived social media data, the PIO emphasized the value of being prepared:

The Public Records Requests Impact: Improving Collaboration with NextRequest

NextRequest, another CivicPlus tool, plays a critical role in managing public records requests for the township. While the Clerk’s Office primarily oversees the tool, Sternesky explained she collaborates closely with the office to ensure smooth operations. This partnership ensures that residents receive timely responses while minimizing the administrative burden on staff.

The township’s adoption of NextRequest highlights how interdepartmental collaboration, supported by integrated tools, can drive efficiency and improve resident satisfaction.

Unlocking the Potential of Local Government

Millburn Township’s journey demonstrates the transformative power of leveraging modern digital tools in local government. By partnering with CivicPlus, the township has achieved:

• More holistic and insightful key performance indicator tracking for making data-driven decisions.
• A more accessible and user-friendly digital presence.
• Stronger engagement with its community.
• Improved compliance and operational efficiency.

When discussing how the CivicPlus CMS administrative functionality has affected her day-to-day, Sternesky noted:

This partnership exemplifies how local governments can overcome resource constraints to deliver exceptional service and foster trust with their residents. As the township continues to innovate, it stands as a model for other communities looking to embark on their own digital transformation journeys.