Finance Committee Meeting Materials - 08-13-2020AUGUST 13, 2020 - FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MATERIALS PAGE 1 | 1
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MATERIALS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020
1. Sales Tax Report
2. Accommodations Tax Report
3. ClearGov Proposal and Clear Lake Sample Budget Book
4. Ryan Wilson from ClearGov will join the meeting and host a presentation, but feel free to check
out the below links and information while you prepare for the meeting:
a. 5-minute Demo Videos
i. Micro-Demo: Digital Budget Book
ii. Micro-Demo: ClearGov Budgets
b. Sample Budget Books
i. Monte Sereno Budget Book (completed client example)
ii. Clear Lake Budget Book (example Budget Book with some filler text - this is not
a real town)
iii. Commerce City Budget Book
iv. Printed Budget Book Example attached
c. ClearGov Insights Example (Transparency Profile)
i. Clear Lake Transparency Center (Demo site that I briefly showed you)
ii. Pueblo West, CO
iii. Maplewood, MN
d. Case Studies
i. Barre, MA (This example is specific to ClearGov Budgets + Insights, however it
speaks as to the experience our clients have in regards to the client success
team and speed of the onboarding process)
ii. Pueblo West, CO Case Study
‐
200,000.00
400,000.00
600,000.00
800,000.00
1,000,000.00
1,200,000.00
2019 v 2020 Sales Tax Revenue Comparison
2019 Sales Tax Revenue YTD (Jan ‐ June)2020 Sales Tax Revenue YTD (Jan ‐ June)
‐
50,000.00
100,000.00
150,000.00
200,000.00
250,000.00
300,000.00
March 2019 v March 2020 Sales Tax Revenue
Comparison
March 2019 March 2020
‐
20,000.00
40,000.00
60,000.00
80,000.00
100,000.00
120,000.00
140,000.00
April 2019 v April 2020 Sales Tax Revenue
Comparison
April 2019 April 2020
‐
20,000.00
40,000.00
60,000.00
80,000.00
100,000.00
120,000.00
140,000.00
160,000.00
180,000.00
June 2019 v June 2020 Sales Tax Revenue
Comparison
June 2019 June 2020
‐
20,000.00
40,000.00
60,000.00
80,000.00
100,000.00
120,000.00
140,000.00
160,000.00
May 2019 v May 2020 Sales Tax Revenue
Comparison
May 2019 May 2020
State Business Type 2019 Sales Tax Revenue YTD (Jan ‐ June) 2020 Sales Tax Revenue YTD (Jan ‐ June)
Home/Garden 364,258.94 430,856.94
Grocery/Specialty/Health 983,029.60 1,000,293.66
Sporting Goods Retail/Rental 419,603.02 402,041.88
Miscellaneous Retail 180,678.98 188,606.46
Accommodations 841,253.76 620,460.74
Restaurants /Bars 723,980.66 537,645.84
Other 51,151.21 37,187.67
Service Related 181,626.22 154,288.03
Liquor Stores 158,476.85 144,125.49
E‐Commerce Retail 74,356.13 85,373.06
Manufacturing/Wholesale 78,297.42 95,556.47
Construction Related Srvs 209,096.43 335,135.66
Digital Media Suppliers/Sellers 40,438.95 41,786.48
Comm.&Indus. Equipment 24,483.80 36,525.94
Special Events 976.13 27.20
Total 4,331,708.10 4,109,911.52
State Business Type March 2019 March 2020
Home/Garden 71,810.78 66,335.79
Grocery/Specialty/Health 194,624.81 187,075.01
Sporting Goods Retail/Rental 129,777.38 67,263.18
Miscellaneous Retail 78,218.14 47,647.37
Accommodations 251,631.85 132,261.19
Restaurants /Bars 161,180.24 75,819.70
Other 11,595.64 10,792.16
Service Related 59,811.35 49,850.23
Liquor Stores 35,290.55 27,548.97
E‐Commerce Retail 17,449.19 21,830.83
Manufacturing/Wholesale 31,711.16 34,306.80
Construction Related Srvs 60,163.39 121,711.04
Digital Media Suppliers/Sellers 17,501.77 12,397.36
Comm.&Indus. Equipment 9,680.66 17,648.18
Special Events 77.76 ‐
Total 1,130,524.67 872,487.81
State Business Type April 2019 April 2020
Home/Garden 54,489.18 49,108.86
Grocery/Specialty/Health 130,690.91 129,486.41
Sporting Goods Retail/Rental 29,663.68 13,664.06
Miscellaneous Retail 13,522.50 8,150.25
Accommodations 33,814.94 6,966.80
Restaurants /Bars 75,383.58 30,311.65
Other 6,774.02 2,528.02
Service Related 18,711.83 13,288.26
Liquor Stores 17,320.28 17,470.27
E‐Commerce Retail 9,106.58 8,672.89
Manufacturing/Wholesale 5,126.68 5,997.42
Construction Related Srvs 26,706.64 58,268.14
Digital Media Suppliers/Sellers 2,659.75 4,773.17
Comm.&Indus. Equipment 590.36 452.42
Special Events 14.42 27.20
Total 424,575.35 349,165.82
State Business Type May 2019 May 2020
Home/Garden 55,012.70 63,527.79
Grocery/Specialty/Health 125,327.61 145,705.03
Sporting Goods Retail/Rental 16,148.90 26,626.81
Miscellaneous Retail 12,287.87 14,318.49
Accommodations 49,286.35 13,565.03
Restaurants /Bars 79,827.32 73,392.25
Other 6,161.69 1,527.52
Service Related 21,822.11 10,961.35
Liquor Stores 14,670.23 21,955.88
E‐Commerce Retail 8,229.77 11,059.76
Manufacturing/Wholesale 6,820.37 7,253.81
Construction Related Srvs 22,913.32 29,572.81
Digital Media Suppliers/Sellers 2,612.04 4,275.71
Comm.&Indus. Equipment 1,140.49 446.16
Special Events 0 0
Total 422,260.77 424,188.40
State Business Type June 2019 June 2020
Home/Garden 87,672.37 143,629.91
Grocery/Specialty/Health 153,186.35 163,559.42
Sporting Goods Retail/Rental 32,405.68 46,949.92
Miscellaneous Retail 36,898.33 65,965.04
Accommodations 96,845.43 54,080.50
Restaurants /Bars 121,324.19 96,446.18
Other 10,891.28 6,797.08
Service Related 41,307.12 46,258.06
Liquor Stores 21,987.84 25,972.85
E‐Commerce Retail 16,757.44 16,250.81
Manufacturing/Wholesale 20,396.85 27,645.84
Construction Related Srvs 61,467.26 78,340.97
Digital Media Suppliers/Sellers 12,328.23 13,190.03
Comm.&Indus. Equipment 11,443.39 16,878.91
Special Events 883.95 ‐
Total 725,795.71 801,965.52
-
100,000.00
200,000.00
300,000.00
400,000.00
500,000.00
Hotels & Motels Time Share Rental Vacation Rental
YTD Accommdation Tax Revenue 2019 v
2020
2019 YTD (Jan - June)2020 YTD (Jan - June)
-
25,000.00
50,000.00
75,000.00
100,000.00
125,000.00
150,000.00
Hotels & Motels Time Share Rental Vacation Rental
Accommodation Tax Revenue March
2019 v 2020
March 2019 March 2020
-
2,500.00
5,000.00
7,500.00
10,000.00
12,500.00
15,000.00
17,500.00
Hotels & Motels Time Share Rental Vacation Rental
Accommodation Tax Revenue April 2019
v 2020
April 2019 April 2020
-
5,000.00
10,000.00
15,000.00
20,000.00
25,000.00
30,000.00
Hotels & Motels Time Share Rental Vacation Rental
Accommodation Tax Revenue May
2019 v May 2020
May 2019 May 2020
-
15,000.00
30,000.00
45,000.00
60,000.00
Hotels & Motels Time Share Rental Vacation Rental
Accommodation Tax Revenue June 2019
v June 2020
June 2019 June 2020
2019 YTD (Jan ‐ June) 2020 YTD (Jan ‐ June)
Hotels & Motels 458,334.82 334,207.40
Time Share Rental 194,894.78 127,918.00
Vacation Rental 166,305.53 144,760.06
819,535.13 606,885.46
January 2019 January 2020
Hotels & Motels 117,150.52 107,488.81
Time Share Rental 45,448.25 45,989.90
Vacation Rental 34,265.64 35,190.67
196,864.41 188,669.38
February 2019 February 2020
Hotels & Motels 119,530.31 127,888.12
Time Share Rental 45,433.27 49,866.83
Vacation Rental 39,241.61 39,314.70
204,205.19 217,069.65
March 2019 March 2020
Hotels & Motels 126,777.09 50,782.17
Time Share Rental 50,547.51 20,520.52
Vacation Rental 69,645.01 56,736.45
246,969.61 128,039.14
April 2019 April 2020
Hotels & Motels 14,256.54 3,619.15
Time Share Rental 12,857.24 1,138.00
Vacation Rental 4,711.12 3,873.81
31,824.90 8,630.96
May 2019 May 2020
Hotels & Motels 28,896.92 8,799.44
Time Share Rental 13,745.10 1,935.79
Vacation Rental 4,617.19 2,554.36
47,259.21 13,289.59
June 2019 June 2020
Hotels & Motels 51,723.44 35,629.71
Time Share Rental 26,863.41 8,466.96
Vacation Rental 13,824.96 7,090.07
92,411.81 51,186.74
SOFTWARE
PROPOSAL
PREPARED FOR
Scott Wright
Finance Director
City of Avon
PREPARED BY
Ryan Wilson
ClearGov, Inc.
rwilson@cleargov.com
(901) 937-9735
PREPARED ON
July 31, 2020
ClearGov, Inc. | 855-553-2715 | www.cleargov.com Page 1 of 31
ClearGov, Inc. | 855-553-2715 | www.cleargov.com Page 2 of 31
July 31, 2020
Scott Wright
Finance Director
City of Avon
100 Mikaela Way
Avon, CO 81620
Dear Scott,
Per our discussions, I am pleased to provide you and your team at Avon with the attached
software proposal for your consideration.
Our mission at ClearGov is to help build a community of transparent, data-driven, modern
governments. We make it easy for governments like yours to operate more efficiently and
communicate more effectively. Our solutions are easy to afford, implement, and use. They
don't cause a lot of upheaval, and they don't force you to reinvent the wheel. ClearGov
solutions are designed to help local governments like Avon take a strong next step in your
journey from good to great.
We fully appreciate the demands on your time, so I’d like to thank you in advance for the time
that you and your team will spend reviewing this proposal. If you have any questions or need
additional information of any kind, please do not hesitate to ask.
I am confident that you and your team will be impressed by the ClearGov solutions and even
more impressed by how hard we will work to make you happy.
We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely yours,
Ryan Wilson
ClearGov, Inc.
rwilson@cleargov.com
(901) 937-9735
ClearGov, Inc. | 855-553-2715 | www.cleargov.com Page 3 of 31
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
SOLUTIONS OVERVIEW 9
INVESTMENT 22
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 23
SCOPE OF WORK 24
TIME COMMITMENT 26
DATA REQUIREMENTS 28
TRAINING & SUPPORT 29
SECURITY OVERVIEW 31
FAQs 33
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mission
ClearGov’s mission is to build a community of transparent, data-driven, modern governments.
We pursue this mission by making it easy and affordable for every local government to take a
strong next step on its journey from good to great. ClearGov solutions are carefully designed
to help local governments operate more efficiently and communicate more effectively,
fueling better strategic decision making and increased levels of community support.
Solutions Overview
Based on our conversations with Avon and our understanding of your key needs and
objectives, we are proposing the following ClearGov Solutions:
ClearGov Digital Budget Book Suite
●The easiest and fastest way to build an award-winning budget book
●Automatically generates a professionally formatted template that’s pre-populated
with your financials, capital request data, charts, and more
●Let’s you and your team work collaboratively to fill in the details
●Includes a robust Capital Requests module to collect, organize, and present key
projects in an intuitive dashboard
●Built to GFOA guidelines, optimized to ADA standards and designed to be
mobile-friendly
ClearGov Insights Suite
●Transforms complex government financials into easy-to-understand infographics
●Publishes the budget in a uniquely compelling way that drives understanding and
support throughout your community
●Includes simple but powerful tools that enable you to offer residents a window into
capital projects and department performance
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Investment
ClearGov offers solutions that are affordable for local governments of all shapes and sizes.
Avon falls into our Tier #2 category. A summary of your investment in the ClearGov Solutions
proposed herein includes:
Setup Service Fees (One time investment)
Setup Fee $3,600
Annual Subscription Service Fees (Annual investment)
ClearGov Digital Budget Book Subscription $7,000
ClearGov Insights Subscription $6,250
Bundle Discount ($2,500)
Total Annual Subscription Service Fees $10,750
See the Investment Section below for full details on setup fees and annual subscriptions.
Implementation Plan
While implementing ClearGov’s accessible solutions is designed to be a turnkey process, we
offer dedicated Client Success resources to help you get up and running quickly and
efficiently. A comprehensive implementation plan is described in more detail later in this
proposal. Here are the highlights:
Project Management
●ClearGov will assign you a dedicated Client Success Manager (CSM) to coordinate,
lead, and manage the entire setup process as well as provide ongoing support.
Scope of Work
●ClearGov provides comprehensive onboarding services — at no additional charge —
to ensure that you hit your launch targets and get the most value out of your
ClearGov investment.
Launch Timeline
●Launch generally takes approximately 2 – 4 weeks from the time that you provide
your Client Data Report(s) to ClearGov, depending upon the volume/complexity of
your data as well as ClearGov client backlog.
Data Onboarding Requirements
●ClearGov will handle all importing, onboarding, and mapping of data. In short, we’ll
take your raw financial information, sort it, and upload it to the ClearGov platform so it
perfectly matches your chart of accounts. The only thing you have to do is supply your
data, which generally involves running a few simple reports from your existing
accounting system. We’ll walk you through the process.
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Training and Support
●ClearGov provides unlimited training and support throughout implementation and
for as long as you’re a ClearGov customer. You will also have access to a frequently
updated library of online resources and best practices to help you achieve the best
outcomes.
Conclusion
In the pages that follow, we’ll explain how and why ClearGov solutions not only offer the best
value for Avon, but also make your day-to-day operations more efficient, productive, and
impactful.
ClearGov is committed to helping local governments like yours “make democracy work
better.” And while that may sound lofty, “democracy” is simply what you do every day. We
just want to help you do it in a modern, data-driven way — a way that makes your job easier,
lightens your load, showcases all the good work that you do, and ultimately helps you better
serve your community.
ClearGov already works with hundreds of local governments across the country, and we’d be
delighted to welcome Avon into the fold. If you have questions or concerns as you review this
proposal, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you for your consideration.
ClearGov, Inc. | 855-553-2715 | www.cleargov.com Page 7 of 31
SOLUTIONS OVERVIEW
We know that you’re working hard to make your government run better, and you
know that technology can help you get it done. Unfortunately, most of the gov-tech
software on the market right now is designed for sprawling megacities or state and federal
government — not local agencies like yours. So, these platforms are often complicated,
expensive, and loaded with bells and whistles that you’ll never use. You don’t need a chainsaw
to carve a turkey. You simply need the right tool for the job.
ClearGov is built from the ground up specifically for local governments. It does everything you
need it to do. It’s just-right software for agencies that are looking to take that critical next step
toward more efficient operations and better community engagement. Therefore, all ClearGov
solutions are:
INTUITIVE AND EASY TO USE
At ClearGov, everything we do is designed to make complex government
data easy to understand and easy to use, internally and by the public at
large. We present data in readily-understood infographic form, and offer
an interface for our internal tools that’s easy for every staff member to
learn and use.
CLOUD-BASED
Web-based software requires no installation, no maintenance and is
always up-to-date. We host our software and our data with Amazon Web
Services, which ensures data security and world-class software
performance.
TURNKEY
We understand that in local governments, staff is almost always stretched
too thin. That’s why we do all the heavy lifting for you. To get started, all
you have to do is send us an Excel file with your data. We’ll take care of
the rest. When you login to ClearGov for the first time, you’ll find that
everything is right where it should be.
AFFORDABLE
ClearGov is built and priced for local governments and school districts.
Our packages are all-inclusive, so you’ll never be charged extra for
per-seat licenses, never be surprised with hidden fees, and never pay for
support or product updates...never.
Our goal is to delight our customers with unbeatable value in everything we do.
ClearGov, Inc. | 855-553-2715 | www.cleargov.com Page 8 of 31
Modernization is a Must
In the wake of COVID-19, it is more important than ever for local governments to leverage
technology to enable them to continue to thrive in our collective new reality. In fact, those
agencies that have already embraced modernization have found it far easier to weather the
Coronavirus storm.
As the world continues to evolve, local governments need to keep the following four critical
success factors top of mind as they retool themselves for a more efficient and modern
government.
COMMUNICATION
The pandemic has eliminated the water-cooler chat, so internal “over-
communication” should be the new norm. Plus, it’s even more important for
local governments to be transparent when public meetings can’t be public.
ClearGov facilitates and simplifies the communication process, but internally
and throughout your community.
COLLABORATION
Improving and streamlining the collaborative process is vital to prevent key
items from falling through the cracks. Centralization and remote access to
documents, systems and processes is mission-critical. All ClearGov products
have been designed to provide access to your entire team, and we don’t
charge by the user - so you can bring everyone to the party.
SECURITY
Desktop-based applications can be infiltrated, especially if operated
remotely. Cloud-based applications offer instant security. Now is the time to
start leveraging the security resources of cloud platforms like AWS.
ClearGov’s solutions are all cloud-based and hosted on AWS. See Security
Overview section for more details.
FLEXIBILITY
Local governments must be able to quickly adjust to evolving input and
changing dynamics. As a result, they also need the ability to create and
explore “what-if” scenarios to inform better decision making. ClearGov puts
the information and the tools you need at your fingertips to become a
transparent, data-driven, modern government.
ClearGov, Inc. | 855-553-2715 | www.cleargov.com Page 9 of 31
A Streamlined Solution for Building an Award-Winning
Budget Book in a Fraction of the Time
The annual budget book is your government’s most important, public-facing policy
document. You want it to be polished, professionally formatted, and accessible to as many
residents and stakeholders as possible. And, ideally, you want it to be easy and efficient to
produce on your end. ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book suite checks all of those boxes, plus
ADA optimization, GFOA best practices, and then some.
Watch a 5 minute micro-demo here
ClearGov Digital Budget Book Modules
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DIGITAL BUDGET BOOK SUITE
Capital Requests Module
The Capital Request Module is a dashboard-driven
tool that automates and optimizes the process of
collecting, organizing, and reporting capital requests
across all departments and automatically populates
your Digital Budget Book. Think of it as a modern,
digital-first solution to an age-old, paper problem.
●Digitize your requests: Save some trees with
a simple online form that captures and
submits requests electronically
●Customize your form: Easily customize the
default template with a few simple clicks to precisely fit your needs and preferences
●Automate your workflow: Initiate, collect, track, and manage all your requests online,
even set triggered reminders for department heads
●View capital requests at a glance: Report and review requests by department,
funding source, fiscal year, and more — all from an intuitive dashboard
●Publish to your budget book: Automatically generates a capital request summary
with detail pages for each department/request for your Digital Budget Book
Why does Avon need this?
●It’s so much more efficient: The sooner you automate out-dated manual processes,
the more efficiently you can govern. Once you streamline the tedious task of
organizing your capital requests, you’ll have more time and energy to invest in one of
the most critical components of good governance — strategic planning.
●Eliminate the paper chase: Instead of chasing down paper requests and slogging
through the data entry process, you can kick off each new request cycle with a click.
An intuitive dashboard enables you to quickly email online request forms to your
department heads, set automated reminders to gently nudge requestors to complete
their submissions, and monitor progress every step of the way.
●You get a robust digital audit trail: Your department heads can easily attach
pictures, PDFs, and other supplemental materials to their digital request form. These
materials travel with the request, so they’re always just a click away. They’ll even
automatically appear in your budget book once you click publish.
●It’s key to building a better budget book: Capital planning is an important
precursor to building your budget and eventually publishing a compelling budget
book. ClearGov’s Capital Request Module streamlines your workflow, automates key
tasks, and makes the entire CIP process more transparent and collaborative.
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DIGITAL BUDGET BOOK SUITE
Budget Book Module
The Digital Budget Book module helps you produce an
interactive and engaging budget book in a fraction of the
time it takes today. Instead of manually building your book
in a clunky document editor, you build it collaboratively
using simple web apps that streamline the steps from
start to publish.
●Prepopulated and preformatted: Start with a core
framework that includes all of your pre-loaded
budget data with integrated, pre-built charts
●Smarter workflow: Collaborate and work faster to
add your narrative with fewer headaches
●Highly customizable: Add images, choose chart
colors, and select styles to reflect your civic brand.
●Better end product: Produce a polished piece that
is ADA-Optimized and built from the ground up to
meet GFOA best practices
Why does Avon need this?
●The short-cut you always wanted: One simple click generates a fully formatted
framework that’s automatically populated with your financial data, along with
pre-built charts, tables and graphs, and even some pre-written content. You simply fill
in the blanks and customize the content as you see fit.
●Improve accuracy: The more spreadsheets you manage and papers you shuffle, the
greater the margin of error. ClearGov’s digital-first approach is automated, templated,
and paperless so you can stop manually collecting, merging, and managing all that
input from dozens of department heads.
●You save time and aggravation: Recreating charts, tables, and graphs from
spreadsheets every time a figure changes is not only tedious, it’s inefficient. With
ClearGov, every time you change a number in your budget, all of the applicable
charts, tables and graphs are updated automatically.
●Print on demand: Printing a budget book is expensive and often out of date before
the ink dries. ClearGov enables you and your citizens to print specific sections or the
entire budget book whenever you like - which saves both time and money.
●GFOA kudos: ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book is structured to meet GFOA best
practice guidelines. In fact, there’a GFOA checklist built right in, so you can check off
each Distinguished Budget Award Presentation requirement as you complete it.
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A Government Communications Platform
for the Information Age
ClearGov Insights is a suite of cloud-based solutions designed to remove the static from your
communications efforts, so you can keep your community in the loop with the solid work you
and your team are doing. With innovative, turnkey transparency profiles, project pages, and
department dashboards ClearGov Insights helps you tell your story and show your work.
Watch a 5 minute micro-demo here
ClearGov Insights Suite Modules
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INSIGHTS SUITE
Financial Transparency Module
Build community trust and support by publishing
your financial data in an online profile that’s
feature-rich, easy to use, and easy to understand. It’s
an instant best-in-class transparency center that’s
miles ahead of the usual complex spreadsheets and
static PDFs.
●Easy-to-understand infographic format:
Help citizens and other stakeholders easily
visualize and interpret important metrics.
●Context features that make transparency
meaningful: Add explanatory notes that tell
the story behind the numbers. Allow users to
compare data side-by-side with similar
communities near you.
●Budget vs. actuals: Clearly show how funds
are collected and allocated. Reveal trends by
showing historical data as well.
●Open checkbook: If desired, you can provide
searchable, check-level detail revealing
line-item spend.
Why does Avon need this?
●Build public trust: According to the Pew Research Center, only 18 percent of
Americans say they trust the government to do what is right. By proactively opening
up your data for public consumption, you show you have nothing to hide.
●Drive community support: By sharing critical facts and figures with citizens, you can
foster a climate of trust and understanding that helps drive public support for key
initiatives.
●Dispel public misconceptions: MIT research shows that false news travels faster,
farther, and deeper than true news, particularly through social media. In the age of
misinformation, readily accessible and easily understood facts are your best defense
against public misconceptions.
●Reduce inquiries: Research by the Sunlight Foundation indicates that municipal
transparency programs reduce citizen information requests by 30 percent. The more
data you share with constituents now, and the clearer you make it, the fewer inquiries
and record requests you’ll field on an ongoing basis.
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INSIGHTS SUITE
Capital Project Communications Module
Quickly and easily create and publish custom
Project Pages to keep citizens in the loop with key
data and updates about all of your key projects.
Templated Project Pages take only minutes to
populate and allow you to share photos, timelines,
funding sources, and more — all in one centralized
location.
●Share project finances: Post your project’s
budget, funding sources and track
expenditures along the way.
●Share images: Bring your project’s story to
life by posting photos and architectural
renderings.
●Allow citizens to subscribe: Visitors to
your Project Pages can subscribe to
receive automatic email updates every
time you make a change.
●Collect citizen feedback: Invite visitors to ask questions or post comments in a
moderated forum that you control.
Why does Avon need this?
●Shine a spotlight on community development: A good chunk of every tax dollar
funds important CIPs in your community — things like new construction,
improvements to infrastructure, and other key initiatives. Keep residents (and the
press) informed about the issues they care about most.
●Reduce incoming calls: Stop fielding the same questions over and over again. Drive
residents and other interested stakeholders to online Project Pages via your website
and social media.
●Build public support: Right now, you may only hear from the squeakiest of wheels,
but your community is full of smart, reasonable people. Engage them and invite their
feedback in the comments section — a moderated forum that you control.
●Provide a modern alternative to public meetings for busy constituents: By
publishing project data and updates online you can make it easier for engaged
citizens to stay informed.
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INSIGHTS SUITE
Department Dashboards Module
Tell your government’s whole story by publishing
updates detailing department-level performance
metrics. Showcase KPIs for any and all departments,
from animal control to the zoning board.
ClearGov Department Dashboards are extremely
flexible and point-and-click easy to assemble. You
can use Department Dashboards to display any
metric you like. Plus, the ClearGov solution makes
sure that your data is presented in a way that’s easy
for your residents to interpret and understand.
●Customize: Display department-specific
KPIs. Add the department head’s name, title,
picture, and a brief intro letter.
●Create panels: Select the appropriate
template for each section you want to
display. If you like, add commentary or
explanatory text.
●Add charts: Pull in existing graphics from the ClearGov Chart Builder App or easily
create new ones specific to your dashboard.
Why does Avon need this?
●Promote value: Where else can the average citizen go to find out about police
response times or annual fundraising efforts? Department Dashboards let every
division tell its own unique story.
●Hold departments accountable: They say that what gets measured is what gets
done. ClearGov dashboards are a simple and effective way to track department
performance against goals and to promote a culture of performance and
transparency agency-wide.
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INVESTMENT
Our pricing model matches our products - simple, straightforward and built for local
governments.
Setup Fee:
●A one-time investment that covers setup, activation, data onboarding and initial
training — everything you need to get launched.
Solution Subscription:
●A flat annual investment covers unlimited access and usage of your ClearGov
solution and includes unlimited support from your dedicated Client Success Manager.
That’s it. We don’t charge extra for seat licenses or updates or ongoing support or professional
services or anything else, so there are absolutely no hidden fees. See the table below for a
complete breakdown of what’s included.
Setup Service Fees (One time investment)
Setup Fee: Includes -
-Full activation and setup
-Data onboarding
-Client training
$3,600
Annual Subscription Service Fees (Annual investment)
ClearGov Digital Budget Book Suite: Includes -
-Capital Requests Module
-Budget Book Module
$7,000
ClearGov Insights Suite: Includes -
-Fiscal Transparency Module
-Project Communications Module
-Department Dashboards Module
$6,250
Bundle Discount ($2,500)
Total Annual Subscription Service Fees $10,750
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ClearGov offers robust solutions that are easy to set up and operate. We understand that
most local governments are pressed for resources, so we have designed an activation process
that places the heavy-lifting on ClearGov. This section outlines the key project management
roles and responsibilities.
ClearGov Role & Responsibilities
ClearGov will assign a dedicated Client Success Manager or CSM to lead the implementation
effort. Your CSM will:
●Coordinate and execute the development of the project plan.
●Ensure the timely delivery of items identified as “In scope” within this proposal.
●Train your staff to use ClearGov tools and applications.
●Track, communicate, and expediently resolve any implementation issues.
●Monitor project progress to ensure a timely and efficient launch.
All ClearGov CSM efforts will be performed remotely with direct email and phone contact as
necessary.
Client Role & Responsibilities
We ask that you designate one individual as a primary point of contact to facilitate:
●Delivery of “Client Task” items (listed below) in a timely manner.
●Coordination of Client participants for Kick-Off and Training calls.
●Review and approval of onboarded Client Data to confirm launch.
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SCOPE OF WORK
In addition to providing unlimited training and ongoing customer support, your dedicated
Client Success Manager will coordinate all of the necessary onboarding and updating services
required to suit your unique needs. Depending upon which features/functionality you wish to
fully or partially leverage, the scope of work to be performed by the ClearGov Client Success
team is outlined below.
ClearGov Digital Budget Book Suite - Scope of Work
Service Description In Scope
Import historical (actual) fiscal data: Your historical audited
financials form the foundation of the Transparency Module
implementation.
Up to 20 yrs of historical
audited data
Import current and historical budgeted data: Enables the
ability to overlay and present budget to actual performance
within the budget book.
Up to 20 yrs of historical
budgeted data
Capital Request Form setup assistance: A ClearGov CSM will
help you develop a capital request form that mimics your
current process and preferences.
Unlimited Forms
Department Narratives setup assistance: A ClearGov CSM
will help your department heads develop their department
narrative pages, including custom charts and graphs.
Unlimited Department
Narratives
ClearGov Insights Suite - Scope of Work
Service Description In Scope
Import historical (actual) fiscal data: Your historical audited
financials form the foundation of the Transparency Module
implementation.
Up to 20 yrs of historical
audited data
Import current and historical budgeted data (Optional):
Enables the ability to overlay and present budget to actual
performance.
Up to 20 yrs of historical
budgeted data
Import ongoing financial updates: You may regularly update
audited and/or budgeted data at your discretion, e.g. you may
post current FY budget and update periodically with actual
spending.
Update monthly, quarterly
(recommended) or annually
Import historical checkbook data (Optional): You may
choose to display detailed check data — either publicly or
privately.
Up to 100,000 checks
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Import ongoing checkbook updates (Optional): Checkbook
data may be updated at your discretion.
Update weekly, monthly,
quarterly (recommended) or
annually
Project Page setup assistance: Although Project Pages are
simple and quick to create, ClearGov is happy to walk you
through your first Project Page.
Unlimited Project Pages
Department Dashboard setup assistance: Although
Department Dashboards are simple and quick to create,
ClearGov is happy to walk you through your first dashboard.
Unlimited Dashboards
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TIME COMMITMENT
The ClearGov onboarding and activation process is designed to be turnkey and require
limited effort on your part. The bulk of the onboarding effort involves uploading, mapping,
and configuring your data — a process which is managed entirely by the ClearGov Client
Success team. The only To-Do items on your list are to A) send us your data (i.e. run some
reports and send us an email), and B) validate our work.
The following outlines a typical implementation process with estimated Client time
commitments.
Client Activation (ClearGov Task)
●Assign and introduce you to your dedicated CSM
●Your CSM will activate your subscription. NOTE: (You may
access your ClearGov Account immediately upon activation.)
●Your CSM will schedule your kick-off call
Kick-Off Call (Shared Task)
●Your CSM will meet with you (via conference call) to confirm
goals, review onboarding steps and deliverables, and
establish a timeline
●Your CSM will explain data requirements and provide
instructions
Client Data Report (Client Task)
●You run reports from your accounting platform to export
necessary data (See Client Data Requirements below)
●You send exported reports to ClearGov
Data OnBoarding (ClearGov Task)
●ClearGov Client Success Team completes the onboarding
and mapping of your data into the ClearGov platform
NOTE: The onboarding time varies based on the volume and
complexity of your data as well as the current backlog of
Client activations.
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Client Data Review (Shared Task)
●Your CSM will present (via conference call) the mapped data
for your review/approval.
NOTE: Generally speaking, there is a primary review call,
followed by 1 or 2 additional calls, depending upon the
complexity of the data and the number of iterations.
Training and Launch (Shared Task)
●Once you approve your data, ClearGov will activate it within
the live platform and schedule the Launch Training call.
●The Launch Training call typically takes about an hour, and
you may invite as many people from your team to attend as
desired.
Timeline Summary
The overall launch timeline is heavily influenced by your ability to deliver the Client Data
Report in a timely fashion. In short, the sooner we receive your data, the sooner we can get
you up and running.
As you can see from the implementation process outlined above, the ClearGov
implementation process is not a long, drawn-out process. As a general guideline, you can
expect to be completely launched within 2 - 4 weeks of whenever you provide us with your
Client Data Report, and of course, the bulk of the work during that time period rests on
ClearGov’s shoulders.
Launch Deadlines
If you have a specific hard launch deadline — such as coordinating with the launch of a new
Website — please inform your ClearGov CSM during the kick-off call, and s/he will inform you
what will be required to achieve your target launch date.
IMPORTANT: ClearGov Backlog Summary
Due to a recent spike in demand for ClearGov’s solutions, we are in a temporary backlog
situation with respect to our Data Onboarding process. We want to ensure that we are
setting - and delivering on - proper expectations, so we have created a Data Onboarding
Schedule site that provides an up-to-date summary of the current data onboarding backlog.
We will onboard ClearGov customers on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the
signature date of their Service Order. Please see the Data Onboarding Schedule site for more
details and specific dates.
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DATA REQUIREMENTS
The data that ClearGov needs to fully activate your account is straightforward and can be
readily exported from any accounting/ERP system.
Required Files
In most instances, ClearGov generally requires only two simple files from you:
Line Item Detail File(s)
●A simple report that provides the full account number, account description, fund,
year, and total dollars collected/expended for each account/line item in your chart of
accounts.
●Depending upon which accounting system you’re using, this report is often referred
to as the Trial Balance Report; Account Inquiry Report; or Budget-to-Actual Report.
Account Number Key
●Another simple report that labels or describes the “segments” of each account
number (e.g. funds, departments, objects, etc.).
●Depending upon which accounting system you’re using, this report is often referred
to as the Segment Report or Chart of Accounts.
Optional Files
Ultimately, you decide how the breadth and depth of data that you would like to provide to
ClearGov. We recommend the following optional data sets:
Budgeted Revenue and Expense Data
●You can provide historical, current and/or upcoming fiscal year(s) budgeted revenue
and expense data.
Debt Detail
●Show your total outstanding debt on your site. This information may be broken down
by fund and/or by debt categories of your choosing.
Checkbook Data (ClearGov Insights Only)
●If you wish to use the Open Checkbook feature in ClearGov Insights, your data must
include check-level detail for the most recent fiscal year with as much historical data
as you prefer.
When you are ready to send your data, ClearGov will provide you with detailed instructions on
file types and formats needed.
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TRAINING & SUPPORT
ClearGov solutions are designed to be intuitive and simple-to-use, so chances are that you
won’t need much hand-holding - even from the start. With that said, ClearGov’s training
sessions are designed to ensure that you and your team can quickly launch, adopt and
optimize the value you receive from the ClearGov platform. We will share some key insights
and best practices to help you ramp quickly. All ClearGov customers also receive unlimited
access to a frequently updated online support center.
Training Sessions
Your dedicated CSM will work with you to schedule convenient training sessions expressly
tailored to your needs. We often suggest training a core group of power users first (usually
your finance and/or communications team) and then scheduling broader sessions to include
department heads, but it’s entirely up to you. We’ll provide as much training as you think you
need.
ClearGov uses modern web conferencing services to conduct live training sessions remotely.
This enables the instructor to share his/her screen and record every session. It also enables
you to distribute the recording via email after-the-fact to any who were unable to attend; save
it for future reference; and/or train new hires.
Client Success Expectations
You will be assigned a dedicated Client Success Manager (CSM) who will be responsible for
coordinating and managing your activation and onboarding process as well as initial training.
Your CSM will also be your primary point of contact for any ongoing support requirements or
issues.
Service Level
Our CSMs are committed to responding to all support inquiries within one business day, and
in most cases, you will receive a same-day response. You will also be provided an escalation
path in the event that you are ever dissatisfied with your CSM’s performance or you have a
time-sensitive issue that needs immediate resolution.
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Client Support Portal
You and your team will have access to text and video training materials in the ClearGov
Support Center. This online resource center is constantly updated with new content and best
practices.
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SECURITY OVERVIEW
The ClearGov platform is hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world leader in cloud
computing as a service. Used by the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland
Security, AWS is one of only three vendors that have been granted government authorization
to store highly sensitive federal data on its cloud-computing servers.
AWS handles systems, network architecture, and security, enabling ClearGov to focus on
what it does best — developing world-class solutions for local governments. With ISO 27001
and FISMA-certified data centers, AWS has made platform security its highest priority in order
to protect customers’ critical information and applications.
Another key advantage of hosting on the AWS cloud is that it allows ClearGov to easily scale
and innovate, while maintaining all security protections across the entire infrastructure.
How secure is ClearGov?
Hosting with AWS ensures that ClearGov maintains the highest security standards in the
world:
●Web application firewalls control access to the underlying code.
●AWS has built technologies to protect against distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attacks to ensure network availability and application uptime.
●AWS’s SQL Server RDS uses server-side encryption to protect sensitive data.
In addition to AWS’s secure hosting environment, ClearGov has implemented a number of
extra software security features:
●Secure Socket Layer (SSL): SSL establishes an encrypted link between AWS servers
and the web browser to ensure that all data transfers remain private and integral.
●SQL Injection Protection: ClearGov has built protection against SQL injection attacks
where hackers attempt to insert nefarious server requests into web forms.
●Access Rights: ClearGov has implemented strict permission settings based on roles,
which limit access to specific data and application functions. This ensures that
internal users are restricted from accessing sensitive data based on privileges
assigned by your administrator.
●Password Authentication: ClearGov does not store passwords explicitly, but rather
“hashes” (encrypts) them so they are not compromised.
●Logging and Monitoring: ClearGov employs monitoring features that quickly identify
vulnerabilities and provide immediate alerts if action is required.
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Where are ClearGov data centers located?
AWS replicates the ClearGov application and data across multiple data centers to ensure
redundancy and availability. With this in mind, ClearGov is hosted at the AWS data centers in
North Virginia, Ohio, Northern California, and Oregon.
You can learn more about AWS data centers and security measures via the following link:
●https://aws.amazon.com/security/?hp=tile.
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FAQs
General Questions
Q: Do we need to dedicate resources for ClearGov implementation?
●A: Ideally, we would like to have one point person on your end with whom we can
coordinate logistics. We generally require no more than a few hours of that person’s
time for the entire setup/onboarding process. Typically, that same person is
responsible for delivering regular data updates (usually quarterly) , which requires
only a few minutes of their time once per quarter. (See Project Management section
for more details.)
Q: Does ClearGov provide training?
●A: The ClearGov platform is designed to be simple and intuitive. With that said,
ClearGov will provide whatever training you and your team need during the kick-off
process. And, the ClearGov team is available for unlimited support and/or training on
an ongoing basis. ClearGov also provides video tutorials, online help, and other
support materials as well. (See Training and Support section for more details.)
Q: How much effort is required to import our data?
●A: In short, not much. All ClearGov Solutions are designed to be turnkey and ClearGov
does all of the heavy lifting for you. See Time Commitment section above for more
details.
Q: Can ClearGov help us communicate our finances internally?
●A: Absolutely. ClearGov is a powerful tool for not only communicating with residents,
but also internal stakeholders. ClearGov can act as a central reporting platform that
offers clear and easy-to-understand infographics that can be used for presentations
and reports both internally and externally.
Q: How will ClearGov store our data? Is it secure?
●A: ClearGov utilizes a full suite of solutions from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host
and deliver the data for the ClearGov platform. We specifically selected AWS as our
solutions provider because the AWS infrastructure puts strong safeguards in place to
help secure and protect customer data. All data is stored in highly secure AWS data
centers, and you can learn more about AWS security measures via the following link:
https://aws.amazon.com/security/?hp=tile. See Security Overview section above for
more details.
Q. Are there any accounting systems that are not compatible with ClearGov?
●A: The short answer is "No" — we work with everybody. We're not actually doing a
direct integration with your accounting system; we just need a simple report, and
every accounting system we've ever met can easily produce that report. We've
worked with enough of them now that we can probably tell you which report to print,
and if it's a new one, we'll help you figure out which report is right.
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Q: Does ClearGov provide a real-time integration with any eFinance or ERP
systems?
●A: The short answer is…No...and this is by design. ClearGov takes a different approach
when it comes to integrating your data onto our platform. In short...we do the work
for you. You simply send us a report from your accounting system whenever you like,
and we’ll upload it - and there is never any additional charge for this.
●The reason we take this approach is that system integrations sound like a good idea
on paper, but in reality...they are painful, expensive and extremely difficult to
maintain. The key problem is that every time the software changes on either end of
the integration, the connection breaks and requires significant effort to re-integrate.
In fact, that’s how our competitors make a lot of their money, because they charge
professional service fees every time you ask them to re-establish the integration.
Bottom line, the extra costs of supporting and maintaining a real-time integrated
solution far outweigh the minimal incremental benefits of real-time data transfer.
Digital Budget Book Suite Questions
Q: Since the product is template-driven, won’t every ClearGov digital budget
book look the same?
●A: No. While every ClearGov Digital Budget Book starts with the same core template,
it’s highly and easily customizable, so the final product will always be different. You
can add your own images, chart colors, and endless content to make it your own.
Q: Can you guarantee that we will win a GFOA award?
●A: As we have designed and built the ClearGov Digital Budget Book, we have
double-checked the GFOA guidelines every step of the way. We have also actively
reviewed the solution with GFOA reviewers and members of the GFOA staff. With that
said, we cannot guarantee that you will win an award, in part, because the narrative
content is still up to you. In other words, all of the core components are included, but
you still need to fill in the blanks in a way that meets with GFOA approval.
Q: I understand the benefits of digital, but I still need to produce a printed
version. How will that work?
●A: You’re not alone. Old habits die hard and paper is still a must-have for many local
governments. In addition to presenting your budget book online, the ClearGov Digital
Budget Book Suite includes functionality that enables users to create a .PDF, which
can then be printed to generate a hard-copy of your budget book. Also, the
Print-to-PDF functionality enables you to print specific sections of your budget book
and/or the entire book.
Insights Suite Questions
Q: Where does ClearGov get its financial data?
●A: ClearGov sources its financial data from various entities including state
departments of revenue; state education departments; etc. ClearGov also compiles
complementary data, such as demographic information, home values, road miles, etc.
from various public sources including the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Q: How does ClearGov determine the default peer group for peer analysis?
●A: ClearGov uses four primary factors to create the ClearGov Default peer Group for
each municipality:
1.ClearGov looks for municipalities with similar populations.
2.ClearGov looks for municipalities with similar median home values as
determined by census data.
3.ClearGov looks for municipalities with similar commercial assessments to
differentiate between rural and urban municipalities.
4.ClearGov dynamically searches for the closest ten municipalities that meet
population, median home values and commercial assessment deviations.
The figures from these municipalities are combined to create a peer average.
●NOTE: As a ClearGov Insights Suite customer, you will have the opportunity to create
and publish your own custom peer groups, based on whatever criteria is most
important to you.
Q: Won’t publishing a transparency profile generate a lot of incoming inquiries?
●A: On the contrary, our customers find that a ClearGov profile helps the community
find the answers they seek more easily and consistently. Plus, you can add
commentary that tells the story behind your numbers and provides additional
context.
●Prior to launch you will want to identify the components of your data that would
benefit from some additional context. ClearGov enables you to add commentary to
these sections of the profile which will actually reduce the number of inbound public
information requests.
●Finally, if you do get an influx of inquiries, you will generally find a consistent pattern
to the questions. So, you can use those questions to inform and further enhance your
commentary.
Q: What about inciting “community activists”?
●A: It seems that every municipality has a small population of what we call “CAVE
People” (Citizens Against Virtually Everything), and unfortunately, we don't have a
direct solution for that. However, a large portion of the most aggressive community
activism is generally caused by a misinterpretation of the facts, or simply taking the
facts out of context. We have found that ClearGov can drastically change both the
tone and substance of the conversation by showing that your local government has
nothing to hide, and by delivering not just data, but the stories behind the numbers
to help everyone have a more informed and empirically accurate conversation.
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“We were impressed with the ClearGov
solution from the start, especially the clean,
simple interface. They are experts at
presenting complex information in an
easy-to-understand and visually-appealing
way. And, as our partners, they have been
responsive and professional.”
Chris Bradbury
Village Administrator
Rye Brook, NY
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