POLCO a new tenant at the Whitewater Innovation Center
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Technology-inclined residents within the City of Whitewater will soon have an opportunity to weigh in on specific issues through a smartphone app and website.
Plans are in motion to soon rollout software from a new startup company, POLCO. The firm specializes in intermingling public policy with a crowdsourcing platform. City Manager Cameron Clapper provided an update on the new partnership at a Common Council meeting Aug. 16.
Discussing some of the logistics of the new feature, Clapper said the POLCO software will issue surveys usually tied to community-specific issues. Further details of the rollout will be announced on the city’s official website, www.whitewater-wi.gov.
The city inked a deal with POLCO in June in the hopes of bolstering civic engagement and soliciting feedback from residents, beyond the small handful that generally appear at council meetings to speak for or against specific issues.
As outlined in the agreement, the city will pay POLCO $3,000 annually for its services.
But the relationship between the two sides extends beyond the rollout of the new service. In May, the Community Development Authority (CDA) issued POLCO a grant and loan totaling $110,000 as the company moves its operations to the Whitewater Innovation Center complex.
The city’s contractual arrangement with POLCO for its services is at least partially linked to the CDA’s overtures. POLCO is offering Whitewater a so-called community partner package at a reduced rate.
According to the company, communities using POLCO’s services generally pay $6,000 annually.
More details about POLCO are available at www.polco.us.
