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Evansville’s New App Lets Residents Report City Problems by Phone

Evansville’s new reporting app is live and free to use, but local coverage never says what the city is paying CivicPlus to run it, or whether it replaces an older…

Man looking at his phone on a city street, representing Evansville's Works 4U problem-reporting app

What do you do when a streetlight on your block goes dark, or you spot a problem spot in your neighborhood and don’t know who at city hall to call? In Evansville, Indiana, the answer this month got a lot simpler. Open the new Evansville Works 4U app.

The city launched a new mobile tool called Evansville Works 4U around Nov. 5, 2026. Local outlets WNIN, 14 News (WFIE) and WKDQ each reported the same launch within a day of each other, all crediting the city and Mayor Stephanie Terry’s office. Attempts to reach the city’s own press release directly did not succeed, so the account below leans on that independent local coverage rather than the city’s original wording.

How Evansville Works 4U Works

Based on the reporting from all three outlets, using the app breaks down into a few simple steps.

  1. Download Evansville Works 4U on iPhone or Android, or skip the app and use a desktop computer through the City of Evansville’s website instead.
  2. Open a new report for a non-emergency issue. The coverage names broken streetlights and other neighborhood trouble spots as examples, though the city hasn’t published a full list of what counts.
  3. If someone already reported the same problem, the app points you to that existing request instead of letting you file a duplicate.
  4. Track your request and get updates as the responsible city department works on it.
  5. For anything urgent or dangerous, skip the app. Residents still call 911 for emergencies; Works 4U is built for everything else.

Mayor Terry put the reasoning plainly in a line WFIE quoted: residents “know their neighborhoods” and often spot problems before the city does. She framed the app as one more way city hall stays connected to the people it serves.

Built by CivicPlus, Not From Scratch

WKDQ’s report names CivicPlus as the company behind the technology, with a company spokesperson saying it’s “proud to partner with Evansville.” That matters because Evansville isn’t experimenting with some unproven startup tool. CivicPlus and its SeeClickFix product line already run similar resident-reporting systems in smaller communities, including Spring Lake, Michigan, and towns running comparable city-services apps like Easthampton, Massachusetts‘s MyEasthampton. Evansville is a mid-sized city of roughly 115,000 people, so it’s a bigger test of the same basic idea: let residents file a report with their phone instead of waiting on hold.

None of the three articles mention a dollar figure for what Evansville is paying CivicPlus, or whether the app replaces an older reporting system the city used before. That’s a gap worth flagging rather than guessing at.

What’s Not Yet Clear

  • No cost has been reported. Nothing in the coverage says what Evansville is paying CivicPlus to build or run the app, or whether it’s a one-time fee or an ongoing subscription.
  • There’s no stated goal for response times. The city hasn’t said how quickly it aims to resolve a typical report once it’s filed.
  • Account setup and data handling aren’t addressed. None of the three outlets say whether residents need to register, what information the app collects, or how long the city keeps it.
  • The full range of reportable issues isn’t published. Streetlights and generic “trouble spots” are the only examples given so far.
  • The city’s own press release couldn’t be verified directly for this story, so some framing and emphasis may differ from how Evansville itself describes the rollout.

Why It Matters to You

  • If you live in Evansville, the app is free to use and already live, available today on iPhone, Android or a desktop browser.
  • You no longer need to track down the right department’s phone number for something like a dark streetlight. One app aims to route the report for you.
  • The duplicate-detection feature means your report can add weight to an existing case instead of starting the process over, at least in theory. The city hasn’t published data yet showing that this actually speeds anything up.
  • It’s for non-emergencies only. If something feels dangerous right now, calling 911 is still the right move, not opening an app.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I report with Evansville Works 4U?

The city has pointed to broken streetlights and general neighborhood trouble spots as examples. It’s built for non-emergency issues; call 911 for anything urgent.

How do I get the app?

It’s available for download on iPhone and Android. You can also skip the app entirely and submit or track a report from a desktop computer through the City of Evansville’s website.

What happens after I submit a report?

You can track its status in the app and get updates as the city department handling it makes progress. If someone already reported the same issue, the app links you to that existing request instead of opening a new one.

If you try Works 4U, the thing worth watching is whether the city eventually publishes numbers: how many reports come in, how fast they close, and what it’s actually costing Evansville taxpayers to run. Right now, residents are being asked to trust the process before any of that is public.

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