Citizens now have a new way to stay plugged into their local government while on-the-go. DotGov, a Seattle startup, launched YouTown, a mobile platform designed to boost communication between governments and citizens.

The platform, which includes an iPhone app, allows cities and counties to publish news, events, maps and calendars from multiple agencies directly to citizens' mobile devices. The service also can incorporate Twitter and Facebook feeds, and is easily personalized depending on the needs of the government.

"This is a big step towards mobile government," said DotGov founder and CEO Michael Riedyk in a statement. "Cities won't have to worry about developing their own apps for different departments and agencies. They can now sign up at YouTown.com and go mobile within a few hours without any costs."

Riedyk, who has been active in eGovernment for over a decade, said the platform fits the spirit of Gov 2.0 -- "an approach to governing that embraces open data, collective intelligence, and creative tech solutions."

He said he came up with the idea for YouTown after asking what would happen if "you combined open data with mobile and social media."

DotGov has worked on the service for the past year, testing it in in 25 cities, counties and agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Seattle was one of the startup's original partner cities.

Riedyk said YouTown is different from its competitors because it can tie multiple agencies together, removing the need for separate apps for each government service.

“All these different data sources come from different partners and different organizations," he said. "So it's usually not just matter of getting the files out, it’s a cultural change as well, because all these departments must start working together for a common cause.”

The 13-person startup is backed by undisclosed amount of funding from venture capital firms and angel investors. Though it currently offers both the YouTown platform and app for free -- i.e. no revenue stream -- Riedyk said the company will roll out "value-added features" and premium content within the next six months.

The app will remain free, but cities and counties will be able to purchase subscriptions that tie in emergency response features, as well as premium content (such as zoning information) from third-party partners.

Social media features that give citizens the ability to respond in a "Yelp-like way" to the data they receive are also on the way. The features will be free to residents, but local governments will pay to access the feedback.

For now, the YouTown app is only available for iPhones, but the company said it's working to develop support for Android and other devices.