During the Jan. 4, 2022 City Council meeting, Mayor Ben Baker and city staff unveiled the new city website to the council and audience members in attendance. City Administrator Jay Fossett remarked that the website’s redesign was a priority set by the City Council during their strategic planning session in 2021 and that it had been under construction for the past six months. The city staff hired website developer Dan Shields, who based on the direction for the staff, created the visual design changes to the site; city staff created most of the website pages and content. Many of the images and videos used on the site were captured and donated to the City for use on the site by Council Member Scott Beseler.

The new daytonky.com allows residents, businesses, and visitors to access a wealth of city information from public transportation routes to park information. Residents now have the capability to request city services virtually, such as requesting leaf/brush pickup from the Public Works department, requesting a welfare check from the police department, and much more.

“We wanted to make the city website a central source of information in our community and allow our citizens to easily utilize all the services and programs that the City offers,” Mayor Baker said. “The new website provides this and much more for our residents.” Other added capabilities include the ability to pay property taxes online, report code- enforcement violations, and make online requests to the police and public works departments.

 

City staff’s goals for the new site were to improve external communications, add transparency in city government, improve the website’s aesthetics and user experience. The website is categorized for individual users, residents, visitors, and businesses, with sections and content specifically designed for these visitors. Residents will find information relating to Dayton’s public schools, parks and recreation, city services, and code enforcement. Businesses will have access to information and applications for the Dayton Business Assistance (DBA) grant program, city zoning regulations and maps, historic-district information, and various permit and application forms. Visitors will find a link to the City’s calendar, information about its seven public parks, public transportation and parking, and restaurants, retail operations, and professional offices in the city.

“What started as a simple refresh of the website, turned out to become a full redesign,” Assistant City Administrator Jerrod Barks. “The site includes more than 40 new pages, with only 12 pages were brought over from the old site.”

The website went online the morning of Jan. 4 and can be viewed at daytonky.com.

“The website markets the City, provides needed access and information to community members, and greatly improves the transparency of city government,” City Administrator Jay Fossett said. “We’re proud of the product we’ve created and look forward to our residents, businesses, and visitors utilizing the new website, which will be updated with the latest news and information on a regular basis.”