Bromont ville branchée is a project to integrate information technology in the Bromont community. Its objective is to make available and build a fast, efficient technological architecture (high-speed Internet) that is an integral part of Bromont's activities (municipal, commercial, industrial, touristic, social and community). Its mission is to permanently transform the way citizens communicate. live and govern themselves.

Bromont ville branchée's Web site was designed to offer all municipal services as well as various services provided by community organizations through a single portal. The site is intended as a communications tool to facilitate citizen relations and the circulation of information within the Bromont community. In addition to offering a wide range of information on all aspects of community life, the Web site allows citizens to contact and transact with the municipal government (e-democracy). Thus, in addition to being a citizen-friendly platform, the Bromont ville branchee site is also a virtual city hall, a hub for the business community and an integrated tourist information/reservation centre.

This project was made possible thanks to a partnership formed by provincial (Ministere des Finances du Quebec, Information Highway Fund) and municipal (City of Bromont) governments, large corporations (IBM, Videotron, Mouvement Desjardins) and local companies (Volt Design, Cabana. com, Idemo Communication, D2 Marketing, Artopex, etc.), provincial (CEFRIO) and local (Brome-Missisquoi- Perkins Hospital, CEGEP de la Haute- Yamaska, Universite de Sherbrooke) public institutions as well as local organizations (Societe de developpement economique de Bromont, Bromont residential developers' association, Bromont businesspeople, Tourisme Bromont) and most non-profit organizations in Bromont.

Innovative Use of Technology

The new Bromont ville branchee portal went online on September 11, 2002. Over the past year, the project team launched a training centre and a community Internet access centre, prepared programs and worked on mobilizing everyone involved in the community's social, recreational, cultural, touristic, economic and commercial sectors. At the same time, high-speed Internet was made available throughout the region and the City of Bromont began re-engineering its processes, adapting them to provide online services (public notices, minutes, by-laws, library, valuation roll, graphic matrix, forms, paperless City council, etc.).

Virtual public consultation mechanisms were also available (chat rooms). A panel of citizens was formed to prepare a list of citizen email addresses in order to distribute a monthly newsletter. Various organizations and merchants received training on Web- page development to ensure they were integrated in the community portal's architecture. Interactive kiosks for tourists were also ready for consultation in December 2002.

An applied geomatics section was also added to facilitate regional administration and make a number of databases available to citizens. Municipal employees can access geomatic information on a municipal intranet.