Council discussed hiring a new company to redesign the township’s municipal website and a built in text and email alert system.
Mt. Laurel’s municipal website could soon be getting a facelift if officials move forward with plans discussed at this week’s township council meeting.
Acting township manager Meredith Tomczyk used a portion of the meeting to recommend council approve plans to hire Revize, a company specializing in government websites, to redesign Mt. Laurel’s municipal website.
In addition to the total overhaul of the website, Tomczyk said Revize would also provide a method on the new website where members of the public could sign up directly for email and text alerts from the township.
According to Tomczyk, residents would have the ability to receive information about upcoming township events, when new agendas for township meetings are posted or even weather-related alerts from the township about activities such as snowplowing.
“You can actually click on what type of updates you want. If you don’t want to get all of them, you don’t have to, or you can pick all of them,” Tomczyk said.
While the township and its police department send alerts through Nixle, a free electronic notification system, Tomczyk said it would be beneficial for the township to have its own system should Nixle start to charge townships, which Tomczyk said Nixle has communicated would eventually occur.
“Obviously, if they start to charge us, that would be a different conversation to have, but in the meantime we can use Nixle to give people updates to maybe get them to come over to the new system,” Tomczyk said.
Tomczyk said Revize could also provide a service through the new website similar to the “SeeClickFix” subscription service the township utilizes that allows residents to communicate non-emergency neighborhood issues, such as potholes or downed tree branches, directly to the township.
According to Tomczyk, in addition to feeling Revize’s plans would offer the most for a new website, she and other officials also felt the company provided the most cost effective options.
Tomczyk said Revize would charge about $9,400 to completely redesign the township’s website, with a yearly cost of about $3,900 to provide the alert system and SeeClickFix substitute.
Tomczyk noted the $3,900 figure would only be a minor increase from the nearly $3,600 the township pays for the SeeClickFix program alone.
According to Tomczyk, the township received offers from two other companies, each of which officials felt were more cost prohibitive.
The township’s current website company asked for $9,000 for a redesign, $1,200 annually for the email and text alert system and a continued $3,600 for the SeeClickFix program. The other company asked for nearly $11,000 per year, for a locked-in period of five years, for the redesign and alert systems.
Tomczyk noted there would be no locked-in contract should the township utilize Revize’s services.
“If we decide we’re not happy, we can leave at anytime,” Tomczyk said.
Upon reflecting on examples of Revize’s work, Mayor Dennis Riley described them as impressive and said it was time for the township to upgrade its website.
“It really is the 21st century introduction for a township,” Riley said.
