Madison Heights Council accepts $18,488 cyber grant to move city website to .gov domain

Madison Heights City Council on Sept. 29 approved a fiscal-year 2023 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program agreement that provides $18,488 to acquire and implement a .gov domain for the city website.

The move, recommended by the city's information technology advisory committee and presented by staff, aims to strengthen the city's online security and public trust by using a domain managed through the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

".Gov in order to even obtain the .gov we have to undergo a full rigorous verification process to prove that we are a governmental entity," said Mayor Pro Tem Bliss. "Everything has to use HTTPS to make sure that everything that's done on that site is fully secure. And it has a clear sense of trust and legitimacy that I think we've just been missing out on."

Deputy city staff told the council the grant covers the full cost of the migration. Staff estimated the technical transition, platform work and administrative changes such as business‑card updates will take approximately three to six months; the city will configure the existing madison-heights.org URL to redirect to the new .gov address.

Council members debated the length of time it took for the grant to be processed — staff said the award dated from fiscal year 2023 — and welcomed that the funding avoids a local tax impact. The council moved and approved the grant agreement on a voice vote.

The council did not provide a specific implementation timetable beyond the three‑to‑six‑month estimate and will receive follow-up implementation details as staff begin the migration work.