E-government's primary goal is to put you more in charge of your relationship with Lakewood government by providing unprecedented access to municipal information and services through our secure Internet connection.

Electronic government CANNOT trim a Lakewood parkway tree or fill a pothole or report missing pets. It can't fix a neighborhood eyesore.

But, E-government CAN give you the 24 hour/7 days-a-week opportunity to inform us about tree trimming needs or a pothole problem or an animal control concern, as well as empowering you to help us identify and remove eyesores that blight your neighborhood.

E-government WON'T transform the time-tested decision-making process used at Lakewood council meetings, but it CAN give you the opportunity to find out what's on the City Council agenda and research background materials, allowing you to become an even better informed participant in local self-government.

E-government is exciting, but it's no free lunch and planning for it requires that the benefits be weighed against its costs. The good news is that we already have done a lot. On our existing Web site at www.lakewoodcity.org, you can:

• Make an informational or service request online
  
• View our master special event and meeting calendar
  
• Sign up for recreation classes and many special events through our e-commerce service that accepts major credit cards
  
• Read the city council agenda and find out what happens on the major items under consideration within hours of the meeting's adjournment.

You also can learn about changes in city services, such as when trash or street sweeping are affected by holiday schedules; and about city activities, including public safety, recreational, housing fix up, senior services and environmental programs; and even learn about city jobs we are recruiting for.

For your convenience, we have placed hundreds of pages of information on our website. And, technology allows even more enhancements in the future. Here are some examples:

• We can extend our 24/7 service request capability with an online feature that allows you to learn about the status of requests you make online to us.
  
• Place our Municipal Code online in response to the many telephone requests we already receive about the Code's contents.
• Provide more two-way services, allowing you not only to download our forms, but also return them to us online as well.
• Offer you a 24/7 option for submitting and paying for minor building permit requests.

Most of these services can be implemented in a matter of months when financial resources permit. Still, e-government enhancement must compete with other important demands for city resources, such as public safety, recreation, and street repair.

Yet, the future is bright. More e-government enhancements on our Lakewood Online Web site are inevitable. Only the schedule of implementation is in question. The wait won't be too long. Consider these two facts: the Internet is the fastest growing mass technology in the history of the world. More than 45 percent of U.S. households can now log on to the Web. Nearly one-third of all adults 18 and older and one-fifth of all kids 3 to 17 regularly use e-mail.

As more state and federal government agencies expand their e-government offerings, public expectations for municipal e-government enhancements will accelerate. Lakewood is likely to remain a leader in meeting these e-government expectations.

Whether you prefer face-to-face contact, telephone, or Web communication, local government in Lakewood will never be closer-or hopefully more responsive-to you. And, you can count on our history: E-government advancements should prove inevitable in a city called Lakewood-known for 48 years as tomorrow's city today.