Do you think that was too much, or really unneeded? What are your thoughts?
The City’s website receives 100,000 to 125,000 visits per month. Analytics show about 51 percent of the visitors to www.siouxfalls.org are using mobile devices and tablets. This is up from 35 percent in 2013. More and more users are coming to the site to pay bills, find a job, or use one of many interactive maps.
While I feel the mobile device upgrades needed to be made, I question when we have so many people working in the IT department already they couldn’t figure out how to re-format the site. Of course this is the same department that says SIRE isn’t broke, yet has been for several years without a fix.
The city’s I.T. department has two people to support the website on staff. The city is spending over $150,000 per year on their salaries and they weren’t able to simplify the webpage to make it mobile device friendly, they need to be replaced.
This is yet another example of the waste you get when you put incompetent yes-men (and women) in as department heads.
Added to that, huether’s private-sector marketing approach to city government. When was the last time the city had meaningful complaints about the website? What needed fixed?
Were they having trouble filling jobs? I’m guessing not. I’m betting they have dozens of applicants for every vacancy.
But SIRE can’t be upgraded?
I think there was another priority for the money that would have been a greater benefit to the public.
Of course, that’s too much. I can not figure out how the site we have now is worth a $67,000 price tag. I know a class of kids at one of the schools here in Sioux Falls who would have been able to do this as well if not better for basically nothing. I look at the site and all I see is a simple WordPress theme someone could buy for $60 online and use. I mean heck even this site we are on is based on WordPress. I’m sure Scott would agree it’s not hard to build a website in this day and age and even the work that is needed is not worth $67,000 price tag we were charged.
Remember the camera tickets. That was send payment to Arizona or contest to Connecticut. Per city ordinance, pawn shops here must report purchases to a data base company in Texas. We have a company here.
This is just another way to steer public funds into Huether interests. It’ll go to Nigeria and the website will go down permanently. Fix SIRE. Then we’ll talk about the website once Huether’s term is over and we’re sure the funds are not misappropriated and become mad money for the Aquatics Center.
Regardless – there are options to use local IT companies here in SF. The fact that we are not is unacceptable.
King Mike doesnt care and he doesnt care about the workers either.
why would they hire a firm in another state?
The BIG front page picture of Mayor Mike is the only noticeable change for 67-grand.
Mayor Mike? Seriously, what narcissistic d-bag creates then markets his own nickname?? Cross that one off his “magic list”.
South DaCola: Your website is just fine. But, could you add a “Back to the Top” button? Just to be nice? Thanks for considering.
Who’s the vendor?
I CANNOT believe people still buy into exorbitant web site consultation/design/admin fees for what amount to very basic informational sites. It’s the damn “business” perspective from retail corporation execs who pay for complex & entertaining web sites as advertising/marketing tools to drive their sales – the cost of which is a tax write-off for them, of course. This is another example of the misguided approach of “running government like a business”. I’m a member of non profit LLC, and a couple of members sought out the cost of a basic newsletter-style website for the 50-member group to use. The quote was about $6000 – and those two business peoples thought that was appropriate! Thankfully, the most simple paint-by-number-template Go Daddy do-it-yourself site proved more than adequate, and cost next to nothing to create & host. This is not to suggest that would be adequate for our municipality, but if we have two staffers pulling down $150 large between the two of them and they can’t keep a meat & potatoes city government web site running & updated??!!! That is pure crap. Thankfully, time & again the sensibilities of Kermit Staggers would question the need for spendy outside consultants to do work for which City Hall already has an entire department! I’m looking forward to these spendthrift practices (w/ taxpayer $$) being scrutinized by our new City Councilors.
It was ludicrous to pay an outside consultant to fix a simple programming problem. Besides the price tag, using an out of state consultant was also silly. But since the city changed the way bids can be submitted (through an outside bid vendor) last year, you will see a lot of out of state and out of city bids being awarded. For instance the activities guide I believe is printed in either Aberdeen or Minnesota or Iowa which used to be printed locally.
I would bet MMM has friends or connections at this firm and had them hired w/out using his own staff or allowing bidding from local companies. It seems to be the only conclusion I have for paying such a high price for such a simple service!
Right, he is all about serving the people of Sioux Falls….I am not sure how he lives with himself with all the underhanded things he has done!
Don’t worry soon you will be deservedly nuked from orbit anyway be happy!
IAaL
OBG
The founder of Click Rain was involved in the Build it Downtown movement for the event center. It’s his turn to get screwed by this administration.