WOODBURY, Conn. -- It seems the best way to save money these days is to do the job yourself. That's what officials in Woodbury did when it came to upgrading the town website.

Woodbury First Selectman Gerald Stomski has a fiscal year budget of about $28 million and not a penny to spare, so he knew hiring someone to update the town website was out of the question.

"The cost of creating a website was in the range of $14,000 to $18,000 and that was not in the budget," said Stomski.

He set out to do it himself with help from volunteer Joe Donato.

"We just learned as we went along. We had to learn how to code it, how to maintain it and how to update it," said Donato.

The site measures up to another according to town officials. One of the things they have incorporated into their website is a 90-second "selectman's corner" with video updates on what's going on in town.

The do-it-yourself method has equaled big savings. "We saved the town approximately $20,000 in constructing our own site," said Donato.

"We have a first selectman who is thinking of reducing spending instead of raising taxes," said Loud Deluca, of Woodbury.

"The cost of savings, of course, is important to everybody, most people are having a hard time now, even if they don't admit it," said Connie Jones of Woodbury.

Town officials hope to add an interactive bill pay section, but for now an active site and extra money in the budget is just fine.