Village Website Usage Increasing Dramatically

Proof positive that the Internet and digital revolution has settled in to stay in Sussex are big annual increases in the number of visits to the official village website, according to figures provided by Clerk-Treasurer Sue Freiheit.

The village was early into the game, having first established a website in 2001, though it changed service providers in 2007.

In 2008, there were 70, 512 visits to the site. In 2009 that figure jumped to 76,232, and last year it had grown to 79, 468, a 4.2 percent increase over the previous year and a 12.7 percent hike over 2008.

June was the busiest month in 2010, with 7,932 visits.

Freiheit says the most popular spots on the website are the calendar, the parks and recreation information, and the Fire Department information.

Updating the site "does take time and it's done quite often," she said. "Yes, it does help the staff workload because it provides information to the resident, but at the same time, we have a lot of residents who don't use the Internet or have a computer.

"That will change as our population moves along toward increased computer ownership and use," Freihet said.

"I think prior to having the website, things like the village code were not readily available to the public," Freiheit said.

One of the strengths of the website is its availability as an around the clock reference tool for massive amounts of information.

"In the past, the village trustees had a copy of all the ordinances, building codes and other regulations. I had a copy. The staff had a copy. We would make sure there was a copy at the public library," Freiheit said.

"But now any resident, any business owner, any contractor can research information they need at their convenience," she added.

"We still get calls about 'How many cats can I have?,' but now we also get calls about 'Where can I find information on the website about how many cats can I have?,'" Freiheit said with a good-natured chuckle.