Palatine planning to debut new village website

Palatine is preparing to flip the switch on a new, more user-friendly website.

Officials said the current website was last updated in 2010 and is not doing a good job for the many visitors seeking information with mobile devices. Palatine also plans to introduce a village Facebook page.

Deputy Village Manager Mike Jacobs said the revamped website will be crisper and configured for mobile devices. It'll feature an easy-to-use search box at the top of the home page.

"We're trying our best to get information out to the public," Jacobs told the village council at its most recent meeting last week.

Jacobs said another feature will be a "How Do I" drop-down area that also will be at the top of the screen. That section will allow visitors to seek information about typical village business they might want to conduct.

"Everyone has their own things they're looking for," Jacobs said.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen said officials will strive to have the most current information possible on the revamped website, which is expected to debut by month's end.

Council members last October approved a $42,371 contract with Kansas-based CivicPlus for the website work and an online village human resources recruiting application. CivicPlus specializes in web design and software for local government.