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The Cortland County website is set to receive an update within the next two months, allowing individuals applying for a job in county government to fill out digital job applications and upload other forms.
County Legislators unanimously approved a $4,675 contract with Ithaca-based web developer Internet Marketing Magicians at the end of August to aid applicants seeking employment with the county’s personnel department and for individuals seeking legal representation through the county’s assigned counsel department.
Jonathan Meyerhoff, the founder of IMM, issued a report for the county in late April, detailing some of the functions of the revamped website on popular content manager WordPress.
For applicants seeking employment with the personnel department, the report states that the new features on the site will allow for submission of different forms in a job application. It will also add the ability to pay for any fees using GovPay. GovPay is a national software company that aids municipalities with law enforcement financials, car registrations, and tax collection.
Additionally, Meyerhoff’s report says IMM will install web applications and a firewall to identify and block malicious traffic. The company’s safety protocols, Meyerhoff said, should prevent data leaks.
IMM would charge the county at a rate of $85 an hour as new projects or any other development’s arise. The Ithaca-based company has aided in the development of websites for several local and national institutions, companies, and brands, including Ithaca College, Cornell University, and Caterpillar Inc.
The upgrades to the county website and other information technology (IT) matters may not stop there, according to Cortland County Legislature Minority Leader Beau Harbin.
“Longer term Jack Hess, our director of IT, and I are working with an IT steering committee to look at other innovations for our website and IT offerings,” said Harbin, a Democrat representing the 2nd Legislative District.
Harbin detailed a short timeline for the upgrades to the county’s site.
“The (job application) forms will likely be online in the next month or two,” he said. “But the steering committee is looking longer term at a host of items such as decreasing paper usage, increasing our IT resilience, lowering our costs while maintaining our responsiveness and more.
