Pinellas County has always had an open line of communication with citizens through the general information desk.

Now, LiveChat takes that service online to help residents navigate the county’s many programs and services by "chatting" with a communications specialist over the Internet. The LiveChat service is accessible on the county website and the mobile county website.

A button is located on the homepage and many of the individual web pages on the county site. Questions will be answered live from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. When the chat is closed, residents can email a question, which will be answered when the LiveChat opens in the morning.

"The new LiveChat feature offers our citizens a great way to get information online, which is convenient and preferable to making a phone call for many folks," said Tim Closterman, director of the Pinellas County Communications Department. "We have been utilizing various tools in Pinellas County in an effort to give our citizens ample opportunity to become engaged in their government and to efficiently deliver the services they request.”

For more information, visit Pinellas County's website.