What are the hours of the Columbia Market House? Whom do I contact about getting a permit to put up a fence? Do I even need a permit for a fence? How can I report a pothole on a Columbia street?

If you've ever asked questions like these, the answers are now right at your fingertips. Columbia Borough has launched TextMyGov, a mobile phone program that connects residents with their local municipality.

"People just send a text to get started, and then they can enter keywords to find information, or ask specific questions, which will be directed to the right person to answer," explained Chris Vera, manager of the Columbia Market House. "There's no app to download - it's all done through texting."

Through TextMyGov, residents will be able to quickly find links, documents or text that answer their questions. "Maybe you want to tell a road crew that a tree is down, or you want to see the minutes of a recent public meeting," Vera said. "You can access all of that through this program. It's great because you can notice a problem, report it, and whoever is responsible for that particular issue will be alerted on their phone and they can respond immediately and get it taken care of right away." The program eliminates the need to wait until an office is open, take a trip in to meet with someone or spend time on hold after calling for answers, he said.

Vera noted that borough manager Mark Stivers was instrumental in bringing TextMyGov, which is a nationwide program, to Columbia. "He thought it was a great way to get things out to the public and better connect with the people of Columbia," Vera remarked. He added that all comments, reports and questions through TextMyGov are anonymous.

Vera said he envisions the program being another way to serve the people of Columbia. "I believe it's important for the government and the citizens to unite to better understand what's happening in the borough," he noted. "This is a way for people to get their questions answered and have their voices heard. A lot of times, people aren't sure who to contact or where to go for information. This makes it easy, because it's all in one place. It's another way to continue to make Columbia a great place to live."

To sign up for TextMyGov, text "Columbia" to 91896 and reply "yes" when prompted to opt in.