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Wythe County to launch new CivicPlus website with accessibility features and online forms
Summary
Wythe County public information officer Allison Williams previewed a new CivicPlus website at the Oct. 14 Board of Supervisors meeting, saying it will include mobile-friendly design, a newsletter tool, interactive forms including FOIA submission and a sitewide search; the county expects the site to go live at 2 p.m. the following day.
Wythe County officials previewed a redesigned county website at the Oct. 14 meeting of the Wythe County Board of Supervisors, and county public information officer Allison Williams said the site is scheduled to go live at 2 p.m. the following day.
Williams, identified at the meeting as Wythe County public information officer and grant coordinator, told the board the county selected CivicPlus for the new site and that the redesign emphasizes easier navigation, mobile access and compliance with accessibility standards. "You shouldn't have to click and click and click to find what you're looking for on our website," Williams said during her presentation.
Why it matters: county officials said the new site will centralize agendas and minutes, public records and department calendars and give residents a simpler way to sign up for email updates and newsletters. Board members pointed to the accessibility improvements as a key public-service benefit.
County staff described the site’s main features and how they will be used. Williams said the site will include a "notify me" registration so residents can receive agendas, minutes and press releases by email; a newsletter tool (referred to in the presentation as CivicSend); department and county calendars that link to agendas and meeting pages; and a sitewide search that staff said works like an internal Google to find minutes and keyword matches across the site.
Williams also demonstrated an interactive forms center. She showed a fillable online FOIA request form that, when submitted, will send a confirmation email and route the request to the appropriate county staff. "For a general FOIA request, that would come directly to me," Williams said.
The new site will link to certain third-party systems used by the county for permitting and billing (the presentation referenced the county’s external permitting/billing vendor). Williams said those services will remain as direct links from the new site while the county works to make PDFs and other documents accessible.
Williams said CivicPlus has certified the new site as accessible and that the county must bring any newly posted online content, including PDF documents and social media posts, into compliance by April 2027. "This website is 100% accessible right now," she said, adding that county staff will run accessibility checkers and complete additional training in the coming months.
Board members who spoke during the preview praised the mobile-friendly layout and the interactive forms. One supervisor noted that many residents previously needed to print, fill and scan forms; Williams said the new forms center should simplify that process.
Williams credited several staff members for the rollout and said the county will issue a press release when the site goes live. Residents will be able to register on the site to receive targeted email notifications and newsletters once the site is published.
The board did not take a formal vote on the website during the meeting; the presentation was an informational item and preview of the county’s planned launch.
