Residents of Cathedral City have a new tool to help them get City information 24/7 – it’s available at the City’s website (www.cathedralcity.gov) by clicking the “Citizen Support Center” or “Contact Us” buttons.

The web-based tool is called a Citizen Request Management System (CRMS). It allows citizens to look up information using key words, to ask questions if they can’t immediately find the information they are looking for, to request some City services, and to track their outstanding questions and requests.

The CRMS has a “Find an Answer” tool. This gives citizens access to a knowledgebase of commonly asked questions. There is also a “To 10 Questions” list that changes based on the questions citizens ask. There is a handy search engine where citizens can enter key words or phrases to help them find the information they need.

If a citizen can’t find the information they need, they can log into the CRMS and ask a question. Before they send their quest the system provides a list of possible answers to their question. If the answer isn’t there, they can submit their question – when they will be assigned a ticket number so they can track their question – there is more information on that later in this article.

What’s handy about the “Ask a Question” feature is that good questions from citizens and good answers from the city can easily be transferred to the CRMS knowledge base, so that the information is easily available to people with a similar question in the future.

In short, the more the system is used, the more information that is readily available to the community.

If a citizen doesn’t have a question, but would like to report a blow sand problem, nuisance water, broken curbs and sidewalks, report a street light that is out, report a road maintenance issue, report a traffic light that is out, or report a street sweeping need they can do so. These requests go directly to our Public Works department. The citizen is assigned a ticket number to monitor the progress of their service request.

Citizens who have asked a question or made a request can log on to the CRMS with their ticket number and see the status of their question or request. They will also receive an e-mail when their matter is resolved.

People without internet access in their homes can go to any library and log on to the Cathedral City website (www.cathedralcity.gov). Of course you can also come to City Hall during business hours if they need information as well.

Check out the new system. We’re trying to make it easier for our residents to get the information they need.