For the second time in the past five years, Arkansas.gov has been named the No. 1 state government website in the nation in a competition sponsored by the Center for Digital Government.
The center ranked Arkansas as having the best state government website in 2011 and again this year, state officials announced last week. It also ranked the state's website as third best in 2009, second best in 2010, and third best last year.
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government, according to its website.
"We are really progressive and really proud to be recognized," said Bob Sanders, general manager for the Information Network of Arkansas, which operates Arkansas.gov.
Arkansas' new personal government assistance app -- Gov2Go -- helped Arkansas' state government win the award as this year's No. 1 state government website, he said.
"We don't believe state portals are the way citizens are finding services," as much as they've done in the past, and they're increasingly using search engines to find services these days, Sanders said.
The mobile app was launched this spring and is designed to, among other things, remind people to renew their car tags, Sanders said.
People have to "opt in" to use the app and a few thousand are already doing so, he said.
Gov2Go is available for iPhone and Android and tracks deadlines and issues reminders for common transactions like property tax payments and license renewals, said Christy Sidor Williams, senior marketing manager for the Information Network of Arkansas.
"The more citizens use it, the smarter the platform becomes about their individual needs," she said in a written statement.
Arkansas officials "expect a growing number of citizen-to-government interactions to be handled through Gov2Go, which is available on desktop, laptop and all mobile devices, including Apple Watch," Williams said.
"In the future, the platform will include business registration and professional licensing, ultimately offering intelligent features that guide users through complicated business regulatory requirements," she said.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said this year's recognition of Arkansas as the best state government website reinforces the state's long-standing position as a leader in government technology.
"Not only are we expanding the reach of online services for our citizens, but we are redefining how citizens engage with government through the ease and convenience of a mobile phone," the Republican governor said in a written statement.
"I'm proud to see Arkansas setting this trend with a unique 'digital assistant' approach that puts people at the center of government," Hutchinson said.
In addition to winning the top state government website award this year, Arkansas also won two Center for Digital Government achievement awards for the state auditor's site, ClaimItAR.com, which helped the office process more unclaimed property claims than it did a few years ago, and for the state Department of Finance and Administration's iPad kiosks in state revenue offices, which have reduced the wait times for drivers renewing their vehicle registrations.
The state auditor's office paid 7,554 property claims worth $7,272,205 in 2012, said Donnally Davis, a spokesman for Republican state Auditor Andrea Lea.
In 2014, after a full year of electronic filing, the office paid 34,332 claims worth $19,774,801, she said.
That's a 354 percent increase in filings and a 172 percent increase in dollars paid, she said.
Davis said the online filing system has also resulted in faster processing and check delivery.
Seventy-two percent of all 2014 claims were filed online and those claimants received checks within seven days versus 30 days through paper filing, she said.
Walter Anger, an assistant commissioner for administration and operations for the state's Revenue Division, said the finance department started installing iPad kiosks at a handful of revenue offices in July 2014 and now has them at a dozen revenue offices across the state to allow people to renew their vehicle registration quickly, rather than standing in line and waiting.
The iPad kiosks are located at state revenue offices in Benton, Bentonville, Bryant, Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, downtown Little Rock, Russellville, Sherwood, Springdale and west Little Rock, Anger said.
Metro on 09/07/2015