The St. Louis County Council has a new “Public Portal” starting Feb. 1.

The council and the county clerk’s office are “excited” to announce the launch of the county’s new Public Portal effective Feb. 1, 2021. The new portal will allow for improved transparency and access to information related to council meetings, hearings and actions, according to a news release from the council. The Public Portal is accessible at https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-government/county-council/publicportal.

“We are making it easier for the public to access critical information and provide a better experience when searching for information. We believe the launch of the Public Portal will enhance how we engage with the public,” said County Clerk Diann Valenti, who also serves as the council’s administrative director.

Residents can now search through the council’s archive of documents for information by keyword on any device as the site is completely mobile friendly.

The council said a new email subscription feature will expand its capabilities to send meeting notifications/updates to the public. Valenti and the council asks that people who have signed up for council updates in the past please subscribe again because they will be discontinuing the previous email list and the previous method of sharing this information after Feb. 15, 2021.

The portal, which the council describes as “easy to use,” offers many services:

• Agenda, journal or meeting minutes and video of the meeting, all easily accessed from one screen

• Enhanced agenda that will include a “follow-along” feature as well as a splitscreen

view to see attachments alongside the agenda/journal

• Email subscription service for published agenda or journal notifications

• Attendance and voting records easily accessed

• One centralized place to search public council-related records

Instructions for subscribing to meeting notifications:

  Visit https://stlouisco.civicweb.net/Portal/Subscribe.aspx, then

1. Check the box next to the meeting type(s) that you would like to subscribe.

2. Enter your email address.

3. Check the box to confirm you are not a robot.

4. Click Subscribe.

A verification email is sent directly to your inbox.

5. Click the link within the verification email to validate your email address.

The next time there is an update, you will receive a notification directly to your email inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.

“We hope you enjoy the ease of access and modern interactive platform for meeting agendas and journals,” the council said.