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Board considers online payments, website move and town mass-notification system; TextMyGov proposal discussed
Summary
Board members discussed options for online water bill payments, migrating the town website to woodruff.utah.gov, and a TextMyGov mass-notification proposal priced at $1,500 per year (setup fee waived) for 10,000 messages; staff will investigate vendors, costs and pilot options.
Town staff and board members discussed several digital-service items: the possibility of offering online bill payment for water, migrating the town's website and email to a woodruff.utah.gov address, and adopting a mass-text/notification service to reach residents for emergencies.
Online payments and website: Staff reported that running an online payment service for water bills typically carries a monthly base fee (a referenced example: about $34.95 per month) plus a per-transaction charge (example cited: $0.49 per transaction). Staff said usage in similar small towns was modest (about 30 users for one town), and recommended a trial period of several months to evaluate uptake. The board discussed expanding online payment capability beyond water (business licenses, facility rentals) to make an online payments platform more cost-effective and useful.
Website and email: Staff said the town has requested the subdomain woodruff.utah.gov and plans to migrate its public website and town email to the .gov domain; cybersecurity protections were described as a benefit of the move. The board agreed the migration and a revamped site should be coordinated with payment and notification options.
Mass notification: A staff member described a TextMyGov offering: $1,500 per year for a base plan that includes 10,000 text messages; the company offered to waive a usual $500 setup fee. The web-based service allows segmented messaging by map area and can route citizen reports to designated town staff (for example, water problems routed to the water crew). Voice-calling capability would cost extra. Staff suggested the board consider whether residents would sign up and whether the town might seek a sponsor to offset the cost. The board asked staff to prepare more information, potential sponsorship options and a plan to pilot the service and to present the item at a future meeting for a formal decision.
Short-term rental/business licensing: Staff reviewed the town's short-term rental application requirements and recommended adding items that applicants often provide in practice (a site plan and proof of insurance). The board asked staff to revise and align the application form with the existing town code before sending it to the town attorney or the county contact for review.
Next steps: Staff will research online-payment vendors and costs, prepare options for a short retailer/vendor comparison, check possible sponsorship for the notification service, and revise the short-term rental application to add site-plan and proof-of-insurance requirements. No formal procurement or contracts were approved at this meeting.
