Jasper County to launch new website

The Jasper County website is going to get a new, more user-friendly look.

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved CivicPlus as the new website host at its regular meeting.

IT Director Celia Robertson requested the switch be made from Vision, the county’s current host, to CivicPlus. She said the website needs upgraded and now would be a good time to switch vendors.

“In June, we had CivicPlus come and do a demo and we had a really good turn out of the departments there,” Robertson said. “I think it was a consensus of everyone there that the site would be much more user friendly.”

CivicPlus, based in Manhattan, Kan., has an initial redesign cost of $28,741. Beginning year two, maintenance costs would be $5,810 per year with a 5 percent increase added each year. Should the county remain with them for four years, the company would do a 100 percent redesign of the site for no charge.

Vision also quoted the county $24,500 for an upgrade of the system. In a similar model, each year after would be $6,500 for support with an increase of 5 percent each year for maintenance.

Robertson noted that when the county first signed with Vision in 2010, the start up cost was more than $38,000.

“CivicPlus does have some customers in Iowa including Des Moines County, Story County, Cerro Gordo County and are also working with Marshall County,” Robertson said. “Another nice thing is they only do government websites, which is a plus for security.”

The timeline for the transition is about six months. Robertson said CivicPlus will work with information already on the website along with new information they gain from speaking with each department about what they would like to add.

“Our goal is to have all of the departments update their own pages, IT and staff will be there to assist, but the goal is to have each department trained,” Robertson said.

Supervisor Dennis Stevenson said when he spoke with various departments throughout the county, he found that everyone really liked CivicPlus.

“In the long run, I actually think we will be more financially responsible,” Stevenson said.

In other business:

• Supervisors approved Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty to continue tobacco compliance checks with the state of Iowa. He said the sheriff’s office has been doing the checks for more than 20 years and would receive an increase in compensation from $50 to $75 per check with the new contract.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com