Logan Bailey, Eaton County’s communications director, told the Ways and Means Committee the county website recorded roughly 225,000 users in the first half of the year, with 63 percent new users and about 20,000 sessions identified as bots. Bailey said site problems such as JavaScript errors and ‘‘quickbacks’’ (users returning immediately after a failed page load) show a need to improve accessibility and mobile usability.

Bailey said he notified the county’s vendor, CivicPlus, about the errors and is pursuing steps to reduce scraping and other suspicious traffic. ‘‘My position is more than a website babysitter,’’ Bailey said, adding that site monitoring, accessibility and transparency must continue whether or not he remains in the role.

Bailey also previewed four policy proposals he will circulate for commissioner review in coming weeks: a county AI use policy, a social‑media policy designed to help with FOIA and record retention, traditional media procedures including designated spokespersons and media‑training guidance, and an advertising policy to govern promotional spending tied to county messaging.

Commissioners questioned how to measure communications impact beyond website analytics. Bailey pointed to newsletter reach, social‑media reach, and traditional media placements as additional metrics and said he is pursuing ways to better quantify those channels. Commissioners also pressed security and vendor questions: Commissioner Barber asked whether the hosting vendor could better identify AI scraping; Bailey said CivicPlus can help diagnose code errors but may be limited in identifying all scraping sources.

Why it matters: County communications affect residents’ ability to find services and pay bills online. Bailey told commissioners that mobile usage is increasing and mobile usability should be a top priority.

Details Bailey provided:
- First half users: about 225,000; 63 percent new users; 37 percent returning users.
- Bot sessions flagged: about 20,000 sessions.
- Quickbacks: 17 percent of sessions, indicating users rapidly leave pages when they cannot find content.

Next steps: Bailey said he will circulate draft policies on AI, social media, traditional media and advertising for committee review in the next month. He will also continue discussions with CivicPlus about site errors and mobile improvements.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Bailey for the report and indicated interest in the forthcoming draft policies and in better measures of communications impact.