June 11, 2024 Hood County Special Called Meeting

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Hood County Commissioners held a special meeting on June 11, 2024 to review and assess readiness of the county's new website prior to launch. During the meeting, staff provided a detailed walkthrough of the website's structure, navigation, and departmental pages, and commissioners identified multiple items requiring correction or completion, including broken links, missing content, incorrect categorization of departments, and incomplete financial transparency and legal sections. Commissioners discussed priority areas for completion, including financial transparency, legal items, and monetary information, and determined that additional time was needed to ensure quality and accuracy. The commissioners approved moving forward with a one-week delay in the launch date, setting the new website go-live for June 26, 2024.

• Call to order and procedural itemsMeeting called to order with invocation and pledge of allegiance.
• Hood County website review and readiness assessmentCommissioner Samson presented agenda item to review and assess readiness of the new Hood County website and establish a date to make Hood County Texas go the primary URL with auto redirect to the new site.
• New website homepage and navigation structureOwen provided walkthrough of homepage showing navigation organized by government, courts, and departments functions.
• Agenda and minutes access and searchCommissioner asked about searching specifically within Commissioner's Court agendas to narrow results.
• County commissioners precinct pagesOwen demonstrated commissioners pages showing splash page with roles, meetings, FAQs, and precinct-specific information.
• County Clerk department pagesCounty Clerk pages shown with scam alerts and subdirectories for vital records and services.
• Tax assessor and appraisal district linksCommissioner identified incorrect and duplicate links for tax assessment information requiring correction.
• Financial transparency section statusCommissioner Eagle reviewed financial transparency section and found it incomplete, requiring auditor department involvement.
• Treasurer link errorsBroken link to treasurer page identified requiring correction.
• Document Center and redesign needsDocument Center section identified as incomplete grab from old page requiring complete redesign.
• Section 380/381 economic development agreementsExternal link to economic development agreements confirmed as going to comptroller's website.
• Courts section categorization issuesHighway Patrol and Game Warden incorrectly placed under Courts requiring relocation or removal.
• Game Warden page blank contentGame Warden page pulled up blank due to lack of existing content and minimal county interface.
• Sheriff's department page missingSheriff's Department has separate domain but missing from new website navigation requiring addition.
• Staff directory considerations and spam concernsDiscussion of staff directory inclusion with focus on spam prevention and department contact preferences.
• Open records request linksOpen records request functionality identified as missing for non-sheriff departments.
• Push alerts and email notificationsEmail notifications function available through new document Center for agenda and notice updates.
• Staff directory and district attorney exampleStaff directory function explained with District Attorney example showing available departmental structures.
• Social media and YouTube linksSocial media and YouTube links identified as missing from new website requiring addition.
• Website launch timeline and announcement planWebsite launch date set for June 26 with public announcement period and redirect strategy.
• News flash and events pagesNews flash and events pages exist but underutilized with limited tracking capability.
• Library, animal control, and sheriff subdomainsLibrary and animal control have independent websites requiring links while sheriff subdomain ready but links missing.
• Animal control website improvementsAnimal control showing increased interest in website improvements with Kelly demonstrating engagement.
• Summary of website corrections neededOwen summarized easy corrections and ongoing work items requiring completion.
• Commissioner readiness and timing discussionCommissioners discussed delaying launch date to ensure completeness and quality.
• Project completion priority areasCommissioners identified financial transparency, legal items, and monetary information as highest priority areas for accuracy.
• Final approval and next stepsCommissioners approved moving forward with one-week delay allowing additional completion and review time.