In this era of social media, texting, and many other changing technologies the humble website remains a key way to organize and circulate a lot of information. Although the City of New Ulm website has undergone many changes since it was launched in 2001, it’s still a valuable place to find what you need to know about the City. Since it is a resource that’s regularly updated you can find up-to-date information that can help answer your questions.

From road construction updates, to community events, to meeting agendas there’s a lot of things to keep track of in a city the size of New Ulm. City and Public Utilities staff spend time making sure that you can be aware of what’s happening and how you might be impacted. Sometimes you just want to know what a City or Utilities department does, or which parks have a shelter to rent. Maybe you’re curious what is programmed to be broadcast New Ulm Community Access Television (NUCAT) this week. All these and more are available at the City of New Ulm website. Other services that can be accessed from the City and Utilities website are the Library catalog, Park & Rec schedules, and online Utility bill payments.

An important resource for understanding how the City and Public Utilities are operating is through meeting agendas and minutes. A new system was recently implemented to improve the meeting agenda process. Although it’s been successful at this for staff and officials, it also gives the public a much better way to get agenda and meeting information. On the City of New Ulm website there is now a link on the left side of the screen on your desktop computer, or under the hamburger menu at the top of the screen on your mobile device for “Meeting Calendar/CivicWeb Agenda Portal”. Following this link will take you to where you can find meeting schedules and what is planned to be covered in a meeting. Previous meeting agendas and minutes from previous meetings can also be accessed in this section. Minutes from past meetings are usually included in the agenda packet of the following meeting.

Visiting the City of New Ulm website is a great way to get answers to questions you might have. Perhaps you’re wondering where leased parking is in the downtown area? Maybe you’re trying to figure out how your Utility bill compares to the average bill for the entire community? Need to know how to get permitted for a house remodel or a new deck? These are all things that have links right on the home page of the website.

We are also excited to have a website refresh project underway. City and Utilities staff have begun to work with a vendor to redesign the website to be more useful and improve the look and function. This project will include making the site more accessible and help evaluate whether the information we include on it is relevant and helpful. Our hope is to provide more ways to make it convenient to do the things you need to do with the City and the Utilities.

The City of New Ulm website can be accessed at https://www.ci.new-ulm.mn.us

Editor’s Note: The City of New Ulm presents a weekly column highlighting activities in different departments in the city government. Once a month the city will answer questions from readers. Questions on New Ulm city issues can be sent to comments@ci.new-ulm.mn.us.