Board approves 3-year OpenGov permitting subscription despite price increase
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Summary
At its Sept. 15 meeting the Board of Public Works and Safety approved a three-year renewal of the city's OpenGov online permitting subscription after staff described limited alternatives and presented negotiated annual prices higher than the prior flat fee.
The Board of Public Works and Safety on Sept. 15 approved a three-year subscription renewal for the city's OpenGov online permitting system and authorized the mayor to sign the agreement on the board's behalf.
City Engineer Matt McElroy said the new three-year proposal would cost roughly $36,400 in year one, about $37,085.56 in year two and $39,370.23 in year three, compared with the prior five-year contract that charged a flat roughly $35,000 per year. "Our original contract was with OpenGov for 5 years with no change in price, roughly 35,000 a year," McElroy said. "[The new proposal is] roughly around, 36,400 the first year, $37,085.56 the second year and then $39,370.23 the third year."
Staff and board members discussed alternatives. Rick, a city staff member referenced during the discussion, was quoted as saying that the only realistic alternative would be to revert to paper permitting: "you can go back to handwriting and paper," a step staff said would be impractical given current workload. A board member moved to approve the three-year subscription and to authorize the mayor to sign; the motion received a second and the board voted in favor.
Why it matters: the permitting system is used daily by staff and applicants, and staff said moving away from an online platform would significantly increase internal workload. Board members said they were dissatisfied with the price increase but felt the system was necessary to support online permitting and staff efficiency.
What was debated: board members and staff raised concern about the annual price escalation in the vendor's standard terms; Joanna, who negotiated with the vendor before the meeting, secured the three-year proposal described at the meeting. Staff noted that OpenGov's master service agreement includes escalator language typical for vendors in this market.
Decision: The board approved the three-year subscription and authorized the mayor to execute the agreement on the board's behalf. The vote was taken by voice; those present answered "aye." The meeting record did not provide a roll-call tally in the transcript for the item.
Next steps and context: staff will proceed with contract execution under the negotiated three-year pricing. McElroy and other staff framed the agreement as the most practical option available to maintain online permit processing.
