Polk County residents who want to find an ordinance, permit requirements, search a topic in minutes or keep up to date on a certain department can now do so more easily with the county’s new website that recently went live.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Monday, Nov. 4 and reviewed the new website, which is located at the same address of www.polknc.org.

Commissioners heard an update from Polk County Interim IT (Information Technologies) Director Bruce Yelton, who said the new website is very user friendly.

The new website was designed by Revize at a cost of $13,200.

Information on the website includes commissioner meeting agendas and minutes that date back to 2009 with an available search engine for key words as well as budget information.

The website also has a list of county ordinances, inspection documents and an easier icon to find job openings.

Yelton said one new feature is called e-notify, where a user can subscribe to a particular page and receive an email whenever the page is updated.

Each department even has control of its own page to more easily keep their pages updated. A page called, “Latest county news,” shows updated countywide information. There is also a calendar with events the county has scheduled such as commission meetings.

“This is all about ease of use and transparency,” Yelton told commissioners.

Polk County commissioner chair Michael Gage said it was money well spent.
Commissioner Tom Pack suggested the county develop a policy so department heads know what is expected in terms of keeping pages updated.

Interim county manager Marche Pittman said the county is also working on a social networking policy that will tie into the website. Pittman said the county’s former website was underutilized because only one or two people could update the site.