On January 25 of 2018, Mayor Franklin issued a directive on community engagement, which outlined initiatives to improve access to City government and increase
community involvement, among other items.
On January 30th of this year, the City Council approved acquisition of an open data platform, and the plan is to make the platform available
by early summer. The City of Everett is collecting feedback from its citizens to see what sort of data you’d like to see detailed within the platform.
See below for full details, courtesy the City of Everett press release:
The City of Everett is launching a new interactive online portal that will allow community members to access data through the City’s website.
Open data is the idea that some data should be freely available to everyone to reuse and republish without restriction. The new portal is part of the
City’s open-data strategy, which is aligned with Mayor Cassie Franklin’s directive on community engagement and inclusion and
recommendations from the Envision Everett 2037 report. The goal is to promote transparency and empower community members by improving access
to information about the City and its operations.
“Our goal is for provide data about all City departments in an accessible, comprehensive and timely manner,” said Steven Hellyer, information technology
director. “Open data can create opportunities for community members to play a larger role in shaping their community, and we’re partnering with
our library team to provide education about how to get the most out of the platform.”
Everett is the first community in Snohomish County to launch an open-data platform in partnership with a public library. An interdepartmental staff
team will help oversee implementation and maintenance of the portal.
The City of Everett is collecting information about what kind of data community members would like to see available on the portal. Feedback
will continue to be collected even after the platform is launched, and datasets will be updated and added on a continuous basis.
For more information about open data or to submit your feedback about what datasets you would like to see available, visit www.everettwa.gov/opendata.
