Hey Wrentham Got Complaint? You May Be Able to File it Online

Wrentham town appraiser Steven McCarthy presented selectmen with an idea on to help citizens connect faster to their town government Tuesday.

McCarthy told selectmen about the use of what is called "People Forms," where residents can send complaints, ideas, requests and recommendations electronically. He said the difference from email here, however, is that one form would be processed and go to all applicable recipients by way of categorized boxes that a database would read and distribute.

“Let’s say there was a complaint about trash not getting picked up, or there’s a dead animal in the road on South Street,” McCarthy said. “You’d click on the applicable box. If you go down a little further there would be a text box asking for more info. Then if they also want they can upload a photo to the form with a picture of whatever the problem is. They click send and the complaint goes to whoever needs to be notified, and they will all get the same information.”

McCarthy said he got the idea when the town uploaded their assessors maps online and allowed residents to look at them at any time for property disputes, code and building references.

McCarthy said the towns of Medway, Bellingham and Norfolk have at least started to use this system. He added the system would allow the town to monitor its effectiveness in dealing with resident issues and complaints.

“It’s endless as to what it can do,” McCarthy said.

He said the cost of the system is essentially in training personnel to use it, which he said the company recommended three days of training at $1,000 a day.

“It seems like a great tool and it could serve the town well,” selectmen chair Joseph Botaish said.