County Officials Continue To Use Smartphone App To Connect With Public

Posted by: Jessica Boyer in Los Angeles County News September 30, 2014 - 12:44 pm 0 239 Views

Los Angeles County officials are continuing to use a smartphone application, The Works, in an effort to connect more with the public, officials said.

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The Department of Public Works officials launched The Works app in 2012.

“The app has been downloaded over 5,000 times and there are, on average, over 340 requests for service a month,” said Brandon Dowling, public affairs communications specialist for the County of Los Angeles.

Related: City Of Santa Clarita Officials Present Mobile App To Save Water

In the January update of the app, county residents can contact Department of Parks and Recreation, Public Health and Regional Planning officials, according to the news release.

With the new update, people can request facility and trail maintenance at county parks, as well as reporting potential health and safety concerns, report potential public health violations at hotels, motels and apartments — such as unclear or cloudy pool water, broken pool gates or fences, and missing pool lights or drain covers and report possible property violations, including excessive vegetation, junk or trash; illegal parking; inoperable vehicles; occupied RVs; and improper signs or banners, according to the news release.

The app is available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Users can submit a detailed description of an issue and attach related site photos, according to the news release. While not required, users may provide contact information for additional follow-up.

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Users can see status updates on requests in the app.

The app targets users in the County unincorporated areas, as well as incorporated cities that contract with the County, according to the news release. The app is able to determine the appropriate agency based on the address or GPS coordinates.

A phone number will be provided to the user if the service is handled by a local city, such as Santa Clarita.

While the customer reviews for the app range from high to low, the overall average is three out of five stars on Apple’s website and four out of five on Google Play.

For more information and to download the app, visit the website.

Photos courtesy of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.