Administrative
Report
H.18., File # 23-6970 Meeting Date: 10/17/2023
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: WENDY COLLAZO, FINANCE DIRECTOR
TITLE
APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH CLEARGOV, INC. TO UTILIZE DIGITAL BUDGET BOOK
SOFTWARE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF A WEB-BASED ANNUAL BUDGET BOOK FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $61,991 AND THE TERM NOVEMBER 1, 2023 TO JUNE 30, 2027
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In an ongoing effort to modernize and improve City operations, staff is recommending the approval of an agreement with Cleargov, Inc. (ClearGov) to deliver and utilize an online Digital Budget Book software used to promote a more transparent and user-friendly budgeting platform. This solution will allow the City to implement a web-based budget book development process that will help deliver a polished, professionally formatted, and widely accessible budget book.
BACKGROUND
The annual budget book is the City of Redondo Beach’s most important, public-facing policy document. It guides the operations and financial well-being of the City. The annual budget book needs to be refined, professionally formatted, and accessible to as many residents as possible without placing an undue strain on the Financial Services Department during its creation.
In the past, the City’s annual budget has been developed by hand using Microsoft Word and Excel spreadsheets. This is a time-consuming, manual process that requires duplicate data entry and extensive rework for everyone involved in the budget development process. In the current system, budget changes are difficult, which inhibits efficient interdepartmental collaboration.
There are several applications available to municipalities to accomplish the desired goal. Staff researched these products and scheduled multiple vendor demonstrations to identify the best option.
Following this effort, it was determined that the ClearGov Digital Budget Book software offered the most user-friendly, and cost-effective platform to implement the new online budget book development process.
The application provides the City with an automatically generated, professionally formatted, template that’s pre-populated with the City’s financials, capital project data, and related visual charts. The application provides the ability to work collaboratively to refine the annual budget book based on the most up-to-date financial data, adhere to Government Finance Officer Associations (GFOA) guidelines, meet ADA standards, and produce a design that is mobile phone friendly and accessible
H.18., File # 23-6970 Meeting Date: 10/17/2023
to the community on a device of their choosing.
ClearGov’s budget module is made specifically for local governments and provides significant increases in efficiencies, including the ability to work on the budget from any location through a secure web portal. Financial Services staff will use the ClearGov application to encourage collaboration between departments and enhance the dissemination of actionable financial data to the City Council and the Budget and Finance Commission. The application will increase transparency, affording greater public discussion and input regarding how the City of Redondo Beach allocates its resources through the annual budget process.
ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book is a web-based solution that automates a great deal of the budget book creation process using templates and data-driven charts and tables. It meets the GFOA award criteria, and will deliver new levels of budget clarity and understanding to the Redondo Beach community.
The application transforms complex government financials into easy-to-understand infographics. It publishes fiscal information in accessible ways that drive understanding and support from a wide range of community members. This includes simple, yet powerful, tools that enable the City to offer residents a window into capital projects and overall Department performance across the City. This also includes a wide range of easy to use online tools that will make outlining the impact of various drivers simple and transparent for our citizens. Current processes make uncovering and sharing these insights a specialized task with little insight into the overall process of financial reporting.
Staff is recommending a four-year agreement with ClearGov for a total not to exceed amount of $61,991. The term of the Agreement is November 1, 2023 through June 30, 2027.
COORDINATION
Financial Services Department coordinated the Agreement with the Information Technology Department, the City Attorney’s Office, and the City Manager’s Office. The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the agreement as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total cost of the three-year eight-month Agreement is $61,991. The cost of the first eight months of subscription and professional services fees is $14,700. The amount due in year two is $15,300.
The amount due in year three is $15,759. The amount due in the final year is $16,232. Funding for the agreement is available in the Information Technology Department’s annual operating budget.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Agmt - ClearGov, Inc.
· Insurance - ClearGov, Inc.