The Center for Citizens` Services and Information was established in the beginning of 1999. It included six computerized work positions. It aimed facilitating citizens` service, opening the possibility for complex service, reducing direct contacts between customers and specialists in charge of the service implementation, limiting the necessity for citizens to go around various municipal departments in order to receive one single service. The main goal for the municipal administration is working according to the rules for legality, rapidity, easy access and economy of the services provided. In addition, it is aimed to respond to the requirements for quality and suitable for physical and juridical persons administrative servicing. In this sense, the main obstacle turned to be the physical separation of the departments, providing citizens` services. They are situated at the Municipality of Bourgas central building, the Territorial Divisions, and GRAO and Civil State Departments. Hence, the incoming or up-dated data either repeats, turns unorganized or paper documents move slowly through the system. This problem forces realization of communication computer net among spread municipal departments.

After building and using the Center for Citizens` Services and Information, the work directed towards providing with higher quality of information services and products through use of a high technology system. Building the Information System for Administrative Service became possible after the Municipality of Bourgas won financing of its project as a part of the FLGR and USAID program Improvement of Citizens` Service . The municipal specialists directed their efforts entirely towards designing the System, its introduction and providing conditions for its functioning; partly towards its building.

Local networks were built in the five Territorial Divisions of the Municipality of Bourgas and in the GRAO Department. Through radio-communication devices, the computers receive non-cable access to a local net server in the Municipality central building. Hence, work with common information database is ensured. Through computers the personnel at each Territorial Division receive access to several databases with information needed for citizens` servicing: Secretariat through the Acster Office program product; Administrative service Actis program product; GRAO Local Database Population ; Legal-normative checks Regulations program product; Citizens` complains Complains program product (own development); Registering and analysis of collected taxes Local taxes program product (own development).

Internal system for electronic messages was built. The communication connection between the Municipality and its departed administrative units allowed optimizing the work of the secretary s office. Additionally, it set the beginning of functioning electronic register of property, which at later stage would be connected to the cadastre and regulation graphic database. It ensured using the electronic regulations statue books and database Population , adding information and issuing documents for citizens` registration, needed for the administrative service of citizens. Additionally, it optimized the work of the GRAO. Correct and precise directing of information and given access rights, considering the hierarchy of services and management, shortened the information processing, which directly reflected the time necessary for fulfillment of a certain service or decision taking and improved the administrative servicing of physical and juridical persons. The technology of service implementation was based on facilitated procedure according to which citizens only must deposit a requirement for fulfillment of a certain service. The municipality official checks whether the requirement is in conformity with the law and whether the documents applied are regular; then registers the service and announces the term for implementation according to the law regulations at each case.

All technological steps are realized without citizens` participation and without direct contact between them and the employees of the functional divisions and departments. Next steps towards an e-municipality are ensuring citizens` access to information about the processing of their service requirements on the Internet, a possibility for service applying by the Internet, computerizing of all technical services and work positions of Municipal Property and Economy at the Center, as well as converting the public records into electronic.

At the moment, there are several goals achieved:

- a communication system with no additional expenses for maintenance;

- a program product for register of the income from local taxes with possibility for analysis, planning, and prognosis.

- an Internet site including information about the services and the cost for the implementation by the Municipality of Bourgas.

- The information stream was optimized as inside the municipal administration structure, as well as from and to the citizens.

Computer services are provided not only at central, but also at territorial level, technological processes were shortened, the decision taking processes were fastened and the control of implementation was improved through the access to information on both sides. There is no more data duplication, which used to cost a lot of efforts and money, the possibilities for mistakes are restricted, and correct directing of the common tasks was achieved. With their knowledge and experience, the specialists at the Municipality of Bourgas could help their colleges at other municipalities and organizations.