Tazewell County board considers expanding online services for payments and records

Tazewell County board members discussed expanding the county's digital services to allow residents to pay taxes and complete other transactions online, while noting limits in staff capacity and the need for centralized technical resources.

A board member proposed "implement[ing] the ability to do business online. Pay taxes, etcetera, through the use of technology." Supporters said stronger online services would save time and travel for constituents. Speaker 3 said improving county websites "saves time and money" and lets constituents "do something in their chair at the kitchen table" instead of traveling in bad weather.

Speakers also emphasized the practical constraints. Speaker 7 and others said small departments lack in-house staff to scope and implement major digital projects, and Speaker 6 said full procurement and vendor work may not occur until "this fall" when more staff time is available. One speaker volunteered to lend a developer to assist with system development.

Board members debated centralized versus office-by-office approaches to technology and noted trade-offs between control and economies of scale. No procurement decisions or new funding authorizations were recorded in the transcript; members asked staff to return with options for shared services, timelines and resource requirements.

Ending: The board requested additional implementation options and a timetable for how the county could expand online services cost-effectively.