Commissioners pause Civic Plus renewal, direct staff to explore Everbridge and a website strategy session

Commissioners agreed to delay renewal of the county's Civic Plus notification contract and directed staff to pursue a website strategy session and to expand use of Everbridge, a free emergency-notification system paid for by Homeland Security.

Jesse (role not specified) proposed a $500 strategy session with a web consultant to clarify the county's needs; he said vendors were reluctant to give firm estimates before a strategy meeting and noted potential added costs for features such as an inmate roster that is currently published on the county site. He described the strategy session as "about a 3 hour process" and said it would help produce a clearer scope and price estimate.

Brandy (role not specified) told commissioners Everbridge is available at no cost and can send targeted notifications to groups (for example, courthouse staff or Road & Bridge). "It's a free system. It works just like Civic Plus. Homeland Security pays for it," she said. Commissioners discussed using Everbridge immediately for employee and town alerts and agreed to delay paying the Civic Plus bill while they decide whether to migrate to a different platform or expand Civic Plus's use.

Chastity agreed to help coordinate Everbridge signups and website changes; commissioners asked staff to develop a protocol for sending alerts (email and phone calls for critical messages) and to return with cost estimates from the strategy session before committing to a paid website contract.

Next steps: staff will schedule the $500 strategy session, research costs tied to specific features (forms, inmate roster, online payments), set up Everbridge distribution groups, and return to the commission with recommendations and a timeline.