County website to have user-friendly election results

Jasper County wants to update some of its website features.

On Tuesday, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with Neapolitan Labs to provide secure website hosting and support, particularly for the county’s election services. In addition to the approximately $3,000 system installation, the county will have to pay $650 per year.

For a three-year term, that equates to roughly $1,950.

Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott said the current website is OK, but “it’s not great.” Sometimes it can be difficult to get people other than county employees to navigate the site. Over the years, there have also been complaints surrounding the posting of election results. The county, he said, does the best it can.

“I personally think we need … a better website that would allow for easier navigation,” Parrott said, noting his fellow auditors across the state have found a content management platform that benefits their offices and citizens during elections for supervisors, school boards, senators and the like.

According to county documents, Neapolitan Labs is a “full-service web development, marketing and advertising company with more than 15 years of experience working with businesses and organizations across Iowa and the Midwest.” It was originally founded as Web Development by Brian McMillion.

Last year, Neapolitan Labs launched a new content management platform designed specifically for auditor offices to display election information and results. The first site — which, the company claimed, streamlines communication via easy-to-use and responsive interfaces — launched in Pottawattamie County.

The site is secured by SiteLock’s virus and malware protection scanning, along with web application firewall and content delivery network. The county will receive a response for web support within one business day, plus, Neapolitan Labs is committed to being in the office for immediate support on election days.

“It will be extremely user-friendly and give the public a lot of access to election information they don’t have now — I mean, they have it, but it’s just difficult,” Parrott said.

A webinar review will be held annually to present key website analytics to the Jasper County Auditor’s Office.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or
cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com