The City of Long Beach has launched a new feature of its website, creating an email alert system that allows residents to learn more about issues that relate exclusively to them.
According to a tutorial video on the city’s website, citizens can create an account that allows them to receive alerts about topics or past legislation they are interested in.
“There was always a desire to have [an alert] system,” Matthew Ceballos, a Long Beach City clerk assistant, said.
According to Ceballos, the idea to have an email alert system originated in 2011. Proponents of the project included the Long Beach City Council and Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, according to Ceballos.
Ceballos said Long Beach had tried creating an alert system in the past, but it “didn’t come through.”
The exact number of citizens using this new system is unclear, Ceballos said.
Freshman music education major Tim Cummins said such an alert system might entice him to pay more attention to local politics.
“If there was an issue being discussed that I believed to be relevant, then I would … be more likely to go,” Cummins said. “I … would never have even known when the [City Council] meetings were happening.”
Freshman business major Nicholas Vermillion agreed and said that an email alert system would create a greater sense of community.
“I think it is a good idea,” Vermillion said, “especially now … because there is a new feeling of people wanting to be more involved … [in] their community.”
For citizens who are interested in reviewing past events of the Long Beach City Council, records like meeting details, agendas and videos are available on the City of Long Beach’s website. By navigating the website, residents can learn more about meetings on subjects like the budget oversight and public safety committees.
According to Ceballos, response to the new system has been positive.
“I definitely think it will bring people closer to the issues that affect them,” Ceballos said.