LaFAYETTE — Chambers County has refreshed its online presence with a new website.

Chris Busby, director of commercial and community development with the Chambers County Development Authority, said the goal was to provide more resources for people in the county.

“The old website was outdated and not user-friendly and provided minimal information for what we would like a county government to have available,” he said. “With it being 2019, so much more business is being done on the internet.”

Busby said the new website provides more information for business owners looking for a business license and potential residents to learn about the county.

Another goal was to make the website easier to navigate and give out as much information as possible to the residents.

Chambers County Commissioner Sam Bradford said the old website just wasn’t useful.

“The commission recognized something needed to be done,” he said. “As people look for information, they are doing it on the computer and a phone. So, we wanted to make it so the website was user-friendly in all places.”

The website was designed by Red Sage out of Decatur. According to Busby, the county paid $9,250 for the website’s design and an annual fee of $300 for security and maintenance. However, the county owns the site.

Busby said the development authority was the liaison between the commission and Red Sage.

“We consider this a part of community development,” he said. “We worked with each individual department within the county to figure out what they wanted and then went to Red Sage to develop the site.”

The county wanted the ability to get real-time information out to residents for road or bridge closures, a power outage or a public safety emergency. Additionally, the new website will allow people to print off forms or complete documents for the probate judge’s office and circuit clerk that could save time.

The website will also enhance transparency. Busby said meeting times and locations are on a community calendar. Additionally, the agenda and minutes from those minutes will be added to the website. The website will also include job openings, bid information for jobs, links to community development amenities such as the Chambers County Lake, school systems and tourism. Busby said links to other cities like Lanett, Valley and LaFayette, as well as the state are also available.

“Some of that information was never available before,” he said.

Busby said he recommended quarterly updates to the website, so it doesn’t become stale. He said there will be a couple people in the commission’s administrative office that will be trained and held responsible for updating the website.

Bradford said the website is an example of two entities working together to create something good for the public.

“The development authority and commission worked together to make this happen,” he said. “This is just another example of the commission trying to make good, efficient government for the citizens.”