TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Philippe Eskandar, City Manager
BY: Hillary Guirola-Leon, Finance Director
DATE: September 9, 2026
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF A $10,500 FY 2026-27 BUDGET
ADJUSTMENT FOR DEBTBOOK CONTRACT
STRATEGIC PLAN CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Efficient, Responsive, and Effective City Services
Fiscally Responsible and Transparent City Government
BACKGROUND
The Finance Department has been evaluating opportunities to use technology to improve efficiency and identified Lease and Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements (SBITA) accounting as an area where technology could provide significant operational benefits.
The City has historically maintained the information needed to comply with applicable Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements through spreadsheets and other manual processes. As the number and complexity of agreements have increased, maintaining multiple schedules and supporting documentation has become increasingly time-consuming and creates additional opportunities for manual errors.
DebtBook is a cloud-based financial management platform designed for public-sector finance teams and is used by more than 2,100 public finance organizations. Utilizing such a software rather than manually coded spreadsheets will also assist the City in the transfer of knowledge between staff in a more accurate and expedient manner given the Finance Department and City’s overall lean staffing model.
Tony Chou, Mayor
Calvin Lo, Vice Mayor
Hunter Chang, Council Member
John Chou, Council Member
Gretchen Shepherd Romey, Council Member
On July 8th, 2026, the City entered into a two-year contract with Fifth Asset, Inc.(dba Debtbook) to provide Lease & SBITA Management software. The total contract amount is $20,500 with an annual payment of $10,500.
DISCUSSION
GASB establishes accounting and financial reporting standards that impact how the City reports its financial information. DebtBook provides software designed to assist the City with the ongoing accounting and reporting requirements associated with GASB Statement No. 87, Leases, and GASB Statement No. 96, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements.
GASB Statement No. 87 establishes requirements for accounting and financial reporting for leases and requires governments to recognize qualifying leaserelated assets and liabilities. GASB Statement No. 96 establishes requirements for accounting and financial reporting for qualifying SBITAs, including recognition of a subscription asset and subscription liability, as well as amortization schedules, and disclosure requirements.
The City initially implemented the requirements associated with GASB 87 and GASB 96 in 2020 and 2023, respectively.
Since implementation, the Finance Department has maintained the related information and amortization schedules through spreadsheets containing numerous worksheets and manual calculations. As the City's agreements and reporting requirements have continued to grow, the Department identified a need for a more streamlined and centralized process.
DebtBook provides the City with efficiencies including:
• Centralized management and storage of lease and SBITA information. • Automated calculation and maintenance of amortization schedules. • Tracking of key contract dates, payments, and other obligations. • Generation of information and journal-entry support needed for annual financial reporting.
• Electronic storage of supporting documentation.
• An audit trail that allows the City's auditors to review supporting information and activity within the system.
• Use of AI to analyze contract data, reducing the amount of manual data entry required by staff.
• Improved organization
• Reduced reliance on multiple spreadsheets and manual calculations.
To implement the use of the software for this audit year FY 2025-26, the contract was executed in July 2026. Staff is recommending a FY 2026-27 budget adjustment in the amount of $10,500 to cover the first-year cost.
FISCAL IMPACT & PROCUREMENT REVIEW
The City procured DebtBook through the OMNIA Partners cooperative purchasing program. DebtBook is available to public-sector organizations through OMNIA Partners Contract No. 159808 for Debt and Lease Management Software and Consulting Services.
A FY 2026-27 budget adjustment of $10,500 to Account # 101-11-4150-0500 is needed to cover the first-year cost.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's office has reviewed and approved as to form.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council approve a FY 2026-27 budget adjustment of $10,500 to Account # 101-11-4150-0500.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Debtbook Executed Contract