The City of Florissant moved one step closer to having a system where citizens can make online suggestion, comments or complaints.

Thursday night, the council voted in approval of hiring, eGov, a company that works with government entities to create website and citizen request software for the city.

Information Technology Director Kim Emerson presented two companies, eGov and Civic Plus, to the council for consideration of the project. Emerson and the administration recommended eGov for its lower cost and adequate offer.

With eGov, Florissant would be able to get a redesigned website, a citizen request management software, hosting and maintenance.  eGov would cost $24,000 for the website redesign and software as well as $3,500 for maintenance and hosting, which Emerson pointed out would save money on what the city pays now.

Last year, Ward 6 Councilman Pat Stinnett proposed the idea to put in place an online tracking system for citizens to submit a concern or problem and then be able to track the request through an online system. For those who aren’t computer savvy, Stinnett said that eventually there will be a phone system established similarly.

The Council allotted $25,000 in the 2013 fiscal year budget for the citizen request software.

Emerson said that it could take as long as three to four months for the redesign and software to be put in place.