Nestled deep inside the city of Presque Isle’s 594-page draft 2018 budget are two items totalling $2,525 that grabbed Jeff Clark’s attention out of the $12.6 million in expenditures.
Clark, who works in information technology and runs the Northscape Photography business, was looking through the city’s IT (internet technology) budget and was puzzled by $2,400 in annual spending listed for Townsquare Media and $125 for web domain renewal.
The $2,400 is for the city’s website (PresqueIsleMaine.gov) contracted through Townsquare Media, the Connecticut-based media company that operates Q96.1 in Presque Isle as well as a web design and marketing division catering to businesses, governments and organizations.
The $125 is for the use of the .gov domain through the U.S. government. Using .gov is optional for municipalities and the fee is set to increase to $400 in January, according to Clark.
While those budget items are a tiny fraction of Presque Isle’s overall annual budget, Clark said he thinks they could be quite a bit lower. Presque Isle’s “website appears to be just a simple WordPress site without much complex functionality,” Clark said, first sharing his observation in the Facebook group Concerned Citizens of Presque Isle.
Clark said he thinks Presque Isle should consider dropping the .gov extension and using a .org domain, which would run around $20 a year. Presque Isle appears to be one of the only municipalities in Aroostook County using the .gov extension.
“They should also find another hosting/maintenance solution, as $200/month is very expensive,” Clark said in an email of the Townsquare Media contract.
Townsquare Media did not respond to a request for comment about its website contract.
“I suggest they check with Caribou and see where they are hosting their website. Their website uses the same technology (WordPress) as ours but they appear to be paying a lot less for it.”
Caribou pays less than $400 a year for its website, according to Clark’s reading of the city’s budget. Other municipalities also spend less than Presque Isle.
Fort Fairfield’s website costs the town $515 per year through a contract with the Presque Isle company Webxcentrics Design Group, according to town manager Jim Risner. Mars Hill’s website was designed at no cost to the town by Adam Metzler, a local resident who volunteered to design the site, according to Mars Hill manager Dave Cyr.
Presque Isle City Manager Martin Puckett said that the city started contracting with Townsquare Media before his time as manager, which began in 2015, and said that the topic has not come up in City Council budget discussions.
