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SANDY — Decisions being made in the Legislature will impact some laws more than others, and Sandy residents can find out that information on a new website.
As Sandy's population continues to get bigger, communications between residents and the city government sometimes gets smaller.
"It's so difficult to get information out and receive information back from your citizens. You really work hard at it,” Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said.
Dolan has seen plenty of City Council meetings where there were more councilmen than residents. And yet tough decisions still have to be made.
"The biggest failure is communications,” said Nicole Martin, Sandy spokeswoman. “If you're not communicating, then your residents have no idea what you're doing."
Although communications with residents is something cities everywhere have a difficult time with, Sandy is trying something not many have tried before.
"What's different about Sandy now is what we call our online information dashboard," Martin said.
Sandynow.com is a website. Most cities have websites, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as old-fashioned newsletters to communicate with residents.
But Sandy is bringing all that together with constant updates to let residents know what's going on. The city is following the legislative session this month to post information affecting its residents.
"With today's technology, it's not enough for cities to kind of passively communicate and hope their residents are informed," Martin said.
Dolan remembers scrolling through city information on a cable-access TV channel years ago and called the experience “the most boring thing in the world.”
He's amazed at how far technology has come and how it's so crucial for cities to use it to make sure residents are informed.
"It's getting much better because people are more technologically advanced and this is the way they communicate," Dolan said.
Dolan understands not everyone has the Internet and said newsletters and announcements will still be mailed to residents.
