West Jefferson council shifts website control to administration, adopts new digital communications policy

The Village of West Jefferson council voted unanimously April 6 to transfer authority over the village website from the legislative branch to the administrative branch and to adopt a new digital communications policy, declaring the ordinance an emergency.

Ordinance 26-023 repeals a 2020 resolution that had placed website authority with the legislative branch and moves oversight and technical responsibility to the administration and its appointed staff. Council members discussed which staff position would be assigned responsibility for the technical side of the website; the Director of Information Technology said the technical work would be assigned to the administrator’s appointee or another staff designee and that the policy provided the framework for that assignment.

Council members asked about the emergency clause and about accessibility requirements. The clerk had included a printed excerpt of subpart H (web and mobile accessibility) from the Ohio codified rules for members to review; council noted the policy document before them incorporates that accessibility language and the director of information technology had provided the drafted website and digital communications policy for council review.

The ordinance was moved and seconded and passed on a roll-call vote recorded as six yes and zero nays. The council did not amend the ordinance during the meeting and did not identify a different effective date beyond the emergency declaration.

Council members said the topic will be assigned administratively and staff will implement the policy, including accessibility provisions and associated technical ownership.