Web site payment raises questions
WAYNESBURG – Questions over the amount of money Greene County is spending on a revamped county Web site forced the county commissioners to table a motion Wednesday to pay a company as much as $6,125 more than their approved contract to add more content to the site. Scott Kelley, county director of information technology (IT), said that a contract was approved by commissioners in January with Innovation Charter to change the style of county’s Web site and retain the site’s original content. The contract paid the company a base rate of $6,800 with a cap not to exceed $8,500, he said.
Kelley said the company provided the county with “mainstream IT at rural rates,” and will provide the county with a professional-looking site.
Innovation met with the elected officials and department heads to discuss other items they wanted to appear on the Web site and a “wish list” was devised for new content on the site.
Kelley said he and chief clerk Gene Lee went through and pared down the list, while some information could be linked to the site without additional cost.
Kelley said additional content work was not part of the original contract with Innovation Charter, which prompted the $4,900 project change request that has a cap of $6,125.
After questions by commissioners, he said departments such as tourism have already contributed to the site costs, while others, such as Human Services, are expected to pay a share once it is determined how much the extra information will cost.
Kelley said the extra cost should not come as a surprise because the contract was only for the style change and original content.
“We knew Innovation Charter was asking for the information, because we asked them to ask,” he said.
Commissioner Farley Toothman said he recognizes the importance of having a functional Web site and the challenges that come with constantly updating the site and upgrading it with changes in technology.
However, he said that he recently came back from the National Conference of County Commissioners, learned that Web sites are issues for every county and discovered that IBM offers a template for county Web sites at a fraction of the cost Greene County is paying Innovation Charter.
“I am not sure Greene County can afford to put together its own Web page without some kind of state and federal help,” he said. “We could have Human Services on the site and then Human Services will find additional information they want and expect it to be updated. I am just trying to figure out who is managing this.”
Toothman noted that as part of the county’s contract with Delta Development Group, Inc., company officials will develop a database for commercial and industrial real estate sites in Greene County and will work in other ways to further develop the county’s Web site.
He said if people within county government or agencies know that the commissioners are footing the entire bill, then officials within those groups will continue to recommend more and more information be placed on the Web site.
Commissioners agreed that the matter should be further discussed administratively before it comes before them for a vote. Lee agreed that “some tweaking” could be done to the proposal before bringing it back to a public meeting.