Where can I find information online about public meetings, trash collection changes, sports registration and general information about city happenings?

The city uses a number of online resources to update citizens on changes and happenings. The best place to locate information is on the city’s website, www.bainbridgecity.com. We have a brand-new website that launched in January that is much more user-friendly than in the past.

On the home page, you will find three columns featuring City Services, Recent News and the city’s calendar. The city services section is where you will find RFPs, service requests, City Council Agendas and Minutes, the city’s Municipal Code and facility rental information. You can also find the online bill pay section here.

Recent news is displayed in the center of the page. This will be where you can find the most up-to-date information on city happenings. Finally, the city’s calendar is located on the right side of the page. This features both city and community events, including city holidays and trash collection changes, City Council and HPC meetings, camps and clinics and much more. One neat feature of the calendar on the new website is that you can link it to your own online calendar, such as Google calendar and Outlook.

Are you looking for information on the city’s Leisure Services programs? You find information about any of our programs by clicking on the “Recreation” tab at the top navigation bar on the website. On the recreation page, you will find things like registration forms, clinic information, scores and standings for each sport and much more. This is a fantastic tool for parents to take advantage of.

There are also other ways to find out about information regarding the city. Connect with your city government through social media! Did you know that you can find the City of Bainbridge on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr? The city also has a blog, bainbridgecity.wordpress.com. The city uses social media to interact with our citizens and keep you informed constantly with almost instant information. You can find links to all of our social media sites on the homepage of our website, www.bainbridgecity.com. We love for our citizens to use social media to engage with us, so please “friend” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter so we can keep you informed of all that we have going on.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau, a branch of the city, sends out a weekly email which features upcoming community events as well special sections with information about city happening and Main Street activities. If you would like to receive this email in your inbox each Monday, email cvb@bainbridgecity.com and ask to be added to the mailing list.

Finally, each year, the city is required to send citizens an Annual Report. In December, all city utilities customers should have received their Annual Report calendar in the mail. This year’s Annual Report is a new and updated design that is much more useful to our citizens than past reports. This year’s report, while featuring the city’s 2010-2011 information, is a 2012 calendar with all of the city’s important dates, such as sports registrations, special events, holidays and the like.

This comprehensive calendar is a great tool to have hanging on your refrigerator or above your office desk so that you don’t miss anything happening in the city. If you did not receive your copy, you can pick one up at City Hall and most other city offices or you can download it from our website by clicking on the “Publications” tab located on the top navigation bar.

As you can see, the city offers many ways to stay up-to-date with what is going on. Our hope is that you use the tools we are offering to work together with your government to continue to make Bainbridge a great place to live, work and play!

Sincerely,

Mayor Ed Reynolds