Joanne,

The GovOffice option does seem to be a good one for you or any other
municipal office seeking a web presence.  Their template will help you deal
with many of the formatting and layout issues associated with a website,
while still allowing you to give it your own look.  Some examples of
GovOffice sites are: Middlebury at http://www.middlebury.govoffice.com/,
Westminster at http://westminster.govoffice.com/, and Georgia at
http://townofgeorgia.com/.

If you want to try a website out without having to pay a fee right away,
the Secretary of State's Office and the Center for Rural Studies have an
agreement to host official municipal websites for free for an incubation
period at www.vermont-towns.org/"your town".  Contact David Deutl at
[log in to unmask] for more info on that option.

Please email me ([log in to unmask]) if you have any other questions.
We do have some tips for municipal e-government at CRS.  One that I would
stress is that you make sure your office designates someone with the time
and skill to keep the website up to date.  Can't stress that enough.

Have fun!

CHIP SAWYER
Information Outreach Coordinator
Center for Rural Studies
207 Morrill Hall
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405
Phone: 802-656-0892
FAX: 802-656-4975
Email: [log in to unmask]


On Thu, 15 May 2003 10:39:18 -0400, Dominic Cloud <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Joanne --
>
>You may want to try GovOffice ( www.GovOffice.com
<http://www.GovOffice.com>
>).  They are pretty affordable and you can do much of the management
>yourself.  Here is their pricing sheet.
>
>* The monthly charge covers hosting costs for websites of unlimited size,
as
>well as upgrades and most assistance from Avenet's Customer Service Center.
>Design changes conducted through the Customer Service Center are billed at
a
>rate of $60/hour and custom development work is billed at a rate of
>$100/hour. These services are available to cities of all sizes.
>
>Dominic Cloud
>Manager, Municipal Assistance Center
>Vermont League of Cities and Towns
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Barbara Acuna [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 10:23 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Homepages
>
>
>We are discussing putting Reading on the web.  Does anyone have
>recommendations re: soft ware, experienced companies, difficulties
>up-dating, etc.?  Thank You, Joanne, (assistant town clerk)
>