MORGANTON, N.C.,None — As more and more information becomes available online, Burke County is expanding its footprint on the web, too.
This week, county employees are applying decals on county vehicles directing motorists to www.discoverburkecounty.com, Burke County Tourism Development Authority's website.
"Those vehicles are out moving around the county every day, so it's kind of like a moving advertisement for us," BCTDA executive director Ed Phillips said.
He said BCTDA used revenues from lodging room taxes to pay for the inexpensive stickers.
Burke County General Services director Carson Fisher said about 25 stickers will be placed in the coming weeks on non-emergency county vehicles.
On Monday, Fisher and associate engineer Keith Farris applied the decal to a Department of Social Services minivan that frequently travels outside of the county.
"Taking the time to advertise their website is a means for us to try and support our local businesses, restaurants, retailers and hotels," County Manager Bryan Steen said.
The decals are just the latest effort the county has made to direct people online.
On June 7, the county began live-streaming the Burke County Board of Commissioners meetings at video website Ustream.tv.
Burke County GIS manager Scott Black said the request to stream the videos was relatively easy and current costs are low because the county is using the free tools that are available. CoMPAS Cable helps by filming the meetings.
Information-Technology director Steve Bennett, a recent county hire, said the number of viewers who check in online during commissioners' meetings varies, but "we had a great response our first meeting."
The average number of viewers is 82, but that number is slightly skewed at the moment because only three meetings have been live-streamed, Bennett said.
As for future goals, Bennett said he is helping departments get their information published online.
The IT department recently helped clean up and simplify the process for finding and applying to county board, agency and commission seats. Bennett said the information regarding board vacancies has been online for awhile, but the county's website was readjusted to make it easier to find the information.
"My goal is to make the information easily available to the public," he said.
People can do other things online through Burke County's website and associated websites. Bennett said you can pay your taxes online, look up property deeds and find land parcels.
Black said some county departments are active online, such as Planning & Development, which posts meeting notes, discussions and small-area plan information.
"We're trying to make ourselves more accessible to our citizens and provide them better service," Steen said. "And these are opportunities that we believe will lead to that."
[ Click here to read the full story from Channel 9's newspaper partner, the Morganton News Herald. ]