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Council backs part‑time communications specialist; staff to pursue website accessibility and branding work
Summary
After a presentation by Suzanne, the town’s new communications director, councilors agreed to fund a part‑time communications specialist (about 20 hours/week at ~$32,500) and to increase HR contracted services to $30,000; Suzanne outlined a website overhaul to reach WCAG compliance by April 2027.
Suzanne, the town’s communications director, told the South Berwick Town Council on Monday that her first months on the job have produced measurable engagement gains and that the town needs a focused website overhaul and branding work to meet upcoming accessibility requirements.
“We currently are not conforming to that standard,” Suzanne said of federal web and mobile accessibility rules tied to DOJ guidance, noting a target of April 2027 to meet WCAG requirements. She highlighted recent gains in outreach: daily social posts, a fivefold increase in volume from previous seasons and roughly 313 new eNotify subscribers since November.
Suzanne proposed a three‑part agenda: complete a website overhaul for digital accessibility and improved navigation; develop a unified brand identity (to align with downtown wayfinding); and streamline internal communications workflows so staff spend less time on ad‑hoc messaging. She warned that website vendors are saturated with accessibility work and that timelines and vendor responsiveness vary.
Council members asked whether Suzanne would manage department sites and training; she said day‑to‑day edits should be handled by trained departmental delegates while she would lead large strategic changes and provide training. Suzanne also recounted recent operational problems with the town’s incumbent website vendor (Revise), including a recent outage that affected multiple town domains and poor vendor responsiveness.
After discussion about hiring models, councilors reached a working consensus to fund a part‑time communications specialist at roughly $32,500 for the coming year (approximately 20 hours per week, with the town paying half of the position per earlier budget notes). They also debated whether the communications role should remain a contractor or be hired as part‑time staff; the council directed that the position be listed as a part‑time hire in the FY26 budget while leaving room to revisit the arrangement next year.
Separately, councilors discussed human resources capacity and whether to fund a full‑time HR director. After weighing costs and existing consultant performance, the group agreed to raise the HR contracted services line to $30,000 for FY26 rather than fund a full‑time HR director immediately.
What’s next: staff will move the communications specialist line into the admin budget as a part‑time position at the agreed amount; Suzanne and staff will prepare a website procurement scope and a CIP view of any associated costs, and the council will revisit the staffing model next budget cycle.
