Village Website Brings Greenport into 21st Century

At the Greenport Village work session on Monday evening, the board discussed future use and maintenance of the village’s new website.

Village clerk Sylvia Pirillo said it was her goal to make the new website as user-friendly as possible and she has been reviewing both the good and the negative comments she has received.

Mayor David Nyce questioned if the village has already contracted with Public Relations and Marketing Group, which redesigned the site for $3,750, for site maintenance because he said the site always needs to be a work in progress.

Pirillo told the board the company will perform maintenance for $75 per hour, but also added that she and another member of her staff is going to be trained on how to update smaller issues on the site.

Keeping the website up and active, said Trustee Mary Bess Phillips, is essential and she said they need to keep maintenance in mind when they start budget discussions in December.

“The company we’re working with is great. Whether we’ve been communicating via computer or phone, I’ve been very pleased with them,” Phillips said.

With the new site, Phillips said she hopes to bring the village into the “21st” century and allow customers to make payments online. Pirillo said she was working with the treasurer to make it possible for residents to use credit cards for utility payments to make online bill payment possible.

Phillips also said the Greenport Business Improvement District  has asked to be linked to the village site and Nyce told her that he has suggested the sites be linked for years. Nyce said he would love to have maintenance done in a way where you only input the data once.

The BID website was recently redesigned as well, Phillips said, and they have a different setup than the village.

“The intent of their site is completely different than ours. They are there to promote individual businesses as well,” Nyce said.

As long as the sites are linked, Nyce said it was a positive step in the right direction.