Schuylkill County government has new, easier to navigate website
Sep. 25—Schuylkill County residents will notice a new look to the county website after at least 18 years.
"It's a more modern website," Stan Nestor, head of Management Information Systems, said Thursday. "It should be viewable on any device."
The new site, schuylkillcountypa.gov, went live Monday morning.
It is visually attractive, with photos, mostly from the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau and used with permission, and other information. Other photos or links are from the old county site, www.co.schuylkill.pa.us.
Commissioners Chairman Barron "Boots" L. Hetherington said Friday that he had visited the new website.
"I think it's a good product," he said.
Hetherington said the old site needed updated.
"It wasn't much to look at," he said.
Commissioner Gary J. Hess agreed.
"It was well overdue," Hess said Friday.
Hess hadn't used the site yet but said that people accessing the site should find it easier to search for information.
"I believe it's going to help people," he said.
Nestor said the layout of the website should make it easier for people to do that.
The commissioners voted in March 2021 to spend $23,845 for Revize Software Systems of Michigan to do the work for the project. Money came from the general fund.
Efforts to transform the site started in May 2021 and took about a year, Nestor said.
The company designed the site, with help from MIS, said Nestor, who especially credited Bill Mower, systems specialist with the MIS department. Nestor said the MIS department told County Administrator Gary R. Bender about the site's completion, and the commissioners also knew about it. The MIS department wanted to fine-tune the site before its debut.
"It's still a work in progress," Nestor said, adding that county departments can request changes or additions to the website, something MIS would do.
The website includes a news and announcements section, an event and meeting calendar, department information and an event section on fun activities in the county.
There are five blue boxes near the top of the site's homepage: "Online Forms"; "Meetings & Ordinances"; "Pay For"; "Geographical Information Office"; and "Links."
Finding agendas for weekly county commissioners meetings or the Schuylkill County Parcel locator is easy after knowing where to look.
To find commissioner agendas, click on meetings and ordinances blue box and commissioners weekly meetings reports. The agenda and personnel action report should be there. To find the parcel locator, click the geographical information box and Schuylkill map viewer.
Also, anyone needing to pay delinquent taxes can do so on the website by clicking the box that says pay for, then click delinquent taxes and enter information.
Sometimes taxpayers or others might want additional information from county government. If so, Right-to-Know request forms are available on the site by clicking on the "How Do I" tab at the top of the homepage and then "Apply For/Obtain," which provides links to what can be obtained, including Right-to-Know request forms.
County residents and those with questions about the county courthouse can call 570-622-5570.
Contact the writer: amarchiano@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023
