Lake Zurich's Tech Resurgence

Lake Zurich had 35 likes on its Facebook page earlier this year. 

The village has tripled the number of likes and continues gaining the coveted social media stamp of approval.

It’s all part of Lake Zurich’s efforts to rejuvenate its social media presence and its website to become more transparent, officials said.

Last fall, the village hired IT director Michael Duebner. He has made a lot of changing in less than a year on the job. His mission is modernizing the way Lake Zurich’s government communicates with its residents.

Duebner has cleaned up the website, which he said has been in maintenance mode for about five years, and plans to revamp it soon. The idea is to put up information residents need and want, presenting it in a way that is easy to access, he said.

Likewise with Lake Zurich’s Facebook page. It’s been around for some time but was dormant, he said. Now, it is getting more views and likes, from 35 to about 220 in just a few weeks, he said. New Mayor Tom Poynton regularly posts on the site and maintains his own Facebook page where he posts information for residents.

The village’s newsletter, Newsline, is only available on its website. Lake Zurich had to stop mailing out the newsletter due to budget cuts. It is available at village hall for anyone who does not have computer access or prefers a printed copy.

Another new venture: video webcasts of village board meetings. Lake Zurich had broadcast meetings on cable but had stopped a while ago, Duebner said. Now, village board meetings will be broadcast simultaneously on cable and the web, he said.

Duebner has been able to replace all the cameras in the village boardroom and upgraded other equipment. Lake Zurich High School students are also helping with the webcasts, he said.

Residents want information and “we weren’t getting it to them,” Duebner said.
Now, residents will have information and answers. “It may not be the answer you are looking for, but it will be an answer,” he said.