Liberec: queueing at City Hall a thing of the past, thanks to digitalisation boost

Most municipal services can now be performed remotely, thanks to the launch of a new comprehensive portal, authorities explain

Residents of Liberec have just been considerably facilitated in their dealings with the municipality, thanks to digitalisation. The Czech city has just launched a Citizen Web Portal, which offers a number of services and communication online, at a single point, removing the need to visit City Hall or other administrative branches. Thus, locals will no longer have to bother with office hours or waste their time waiting in lines.

A push for digitalisation in Czechia

Thanks to the web portal, people will be able to electronically file forms or pay fees online, will be in control of their obligations to the office and will get an overview of submissions and ongoing or already completed procedures. However, people will still have to come to the office in person in some cases, for example to apply for identity cards or passports.

As the city website explains, the new tool will complement a national portal, through which people can request, for example, to change their driver's license or get an extract from their criminal record. The municipal portal expands these options to include matters falling within the municipality's self-governing jurisdiction, and dozens of them will gradually be transferred to the portal as online forms.

Some of the remotely accessible services include application for social housing, for lease or loan of municipal land, purchase of land owned by the city, announcements of occupation of public space, paying local taxes, application for the issuance of a parking card, provision of information, filing a complaint or signalling the city authorities, among others.

"For me, the launch of the portal is a fundamental step towards digitizing the office and improving service for citizens. After launching the Liberec application on their mobile phones, the people of Liberec get another tool to be able to communicate conveniently and practically from anywhere with the office and individual unions, which will make it easier for many people to solve common problems, but also complaints.

And of course, it also saves a lot of time, which they sometimes had to spend waiting right in the office building, which they complained about during the Covid pandemic, for example. In short, the citizen portal is another great service for the public," commented the mayor of Liberec, Jaroslav Zámečník, as quoted on the city website.