La Marque council approves $378,637 ARPA contract for NeoGov HR and payroll software

The La Marque City Council approved a contract with NeoGov for human resources and payroll software in the amount of $378,637, using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Council members heard a presentation from Gary Clary of NeoGov and from a city staff member who led the procurement process that the city is phasing out its current ERP vendor's payroll functionality and needs a separate HRIS/payroll system that will integrate with OpenGov. Gary Clary described NeoGov as a public‑sector–focused HR product that covers recruiting, compliance, learning management and HRIS functions and noted the vendor's ability to exchange data with the city's chosen financial system.

City staff said the purchase is budgeted from ARPA and includes implementation costs in year one and annual maintenance fees in subsequent years. During questions council members asked about annual maintenance costs, candidate‑recruiting text messaging, and privacy/reporting controls for public‑records requests; NeoGov representatives said the system supports custom reporting and redaction and that quarterly product updates are included. The city's staff reported the proposed contract is for an initial three‑year term with ongoing annual fees after implementation.

A motion to authorize the city manager to sign the contract upon final city‑attorney approval passed on a voice vote. No member names were recorded in the public vote tally beyond the assembled council saying "Aye." The contract will be funded from allocated ARPA project lines identified in the meeting materials.

The council and staff said the software is intended to avoid a payroll gap when the city transitions away from its current system and to centralize personnel records for reporting, recruiting and training functions.

City staff will return with final contract documents and a staff contact for ongoing vendor support and implementation schedule.