Glen Ellyn reaching out to residents through e-mail

Glen Ellyn is encouraging a new form of communication.

This week, the village launched free weekly e-mail newsletter to help residents stay informed about the community.

The e-mail, sent every Tuesday, will provide information about village news, events and meetings. It also could be used as a tool to keep residents informed during emergencies.

Village leaders will work with each department to generate information to share.

Village Manager Steve Jones, who joined Glen Ellyn in June, said he encouraged weekly e-mail newsletters in his two prior communities.

"The goal of good communication is to find as many ways as possible to get the message across," he said. "For many people who are tech savvy and want to communicate via e-mail, this is for them."

Jones said there are plans to promote the e-mail newsletter via water bills and signs in village buildings.

"We're a town of 27,000," he said. "A couple thousand households would be a great goal for us."

Jones said village officials are working on a handful of other ways to enhance communication with residents, including 10-minute shows on the local cable channel highlighting projects and revamping the village's Web site.

"We're in the process of redoing the Web site," he said. "Basically, we want to get rid of the clutter and make it much more user-friendly."

There may be potential focus groups and small meetings to discuss the site in the near future.

"We have lots of ideas," Jones said. "We just need to look and see what our priorities are."

To sign up for the letters, visit glenellyn.org and click on the link.