“Our website is really not very good if people want to look things up on it,” said commission President Richard Lechliter during a recent meeting.
If the commissioners can’t find someone in-house to create the website, bids for the project will be solicited.
Starting July 1, each county commission website would required to have the name and title of each elected county office holder and their contact information, including office phone number, government email, fax number, office location and mailing address, according to interim draft legislation. Also required to be provided on the website are a copy of each adopted county ordinance, a copy of approved meeting minutes and a schedule of regular meetings.
“All this bill does is make sure people have the correct information, should someone need to look up an ordinance,” said Del. Gary Howell. “This about transparency.”
The West Virginia Association of Counties (WVACO) is opposed to the bill, according to Howell.
“Someone should be able to go online and get the correct information to contact an elected official,” Howell said. “Someone should be able to go online and get the correct number for the sheriff’s tax office.”
Beginning Dec. 31, county commission websites would also be required to provide the following information to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office:
• Name and title of each elected official.
• Office contact information for each elected official.
• Web address for each county commission.
The commission also gave Jacob Emry the green light to speak with the Mineral County Parks and Recreation about updates to Larenim Park for an Eagle Scout project.
Emry plans to clean and restore the trails at the park, which would entail adding new trailblazers or restoring existing markers and trailheads. He also plans to make maps display outdoor information board.
©2017 the Cumberland Times News (Cumberland, Md.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
