Council to Consider Fate of Citizen Link

To the list of outdated computer systems littering the information superhighway’s shoulders, add one more: Moorpark’s first attempt at putting city information online.

City workers have recommended that the Moorpark City Council yank the plug on Citizen Link, a system designed to let area residents review council agendas and other basic city information via home computer.

An antique at the tender age of 4, Citizen Link has been outshone by the city’s Internet home page, created in August 1996. The home page can display everything on Citizen Link and more, rendering the older system a redundant waste of city staffers’ time.

“It’s hard for us to have both, because we have to find time for both,” said City Clerk Lillian Hare, who updates information on the home page. “That’s where we want to spend our time and efforts, on that home page.”

When it debuted in June 1992, Citizen Link was Ventura County’s first computer service connecting a city to its residents. But the system contained one serious drawback--its design allowed only one person to access it at a time.

The home page, in contrast, allows many people to browse simultaneously. That fact, coupled with the growing popularity of the Internet, has led to far greater citizen interest in the home page than in its forerunner.

More than 5,000 computer users have looked at the home page in its five-month life. During that period, Citizen Link has received about 100 hits.

If the council decides to kill Citizen Link, the service would continue running for another month, telling users to check out the home page at www.ci.moorpark.ca.us

The council is scheduled to vote on the recommendation Wednesday.