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Ripon council approves OpenGov permit software implementation and funding plan
Summary
The council approved the city's contract and implementation of OpenGov building permit software in a 5–0 vote; the city previously budgeted $40,000 for implementation and will recover ongoing subscription costs through permit fees.
The Ripon City Council voted unanimously to approve the implementation agreement and proceed with OpenGov's building permit software, approving the measure 5–0. The contract and a revised master services agreement were presented to the council and discussed with staff and OpenGov representatives.
Kevin McKinney, who presented the staff report for the building department, said staff evaluated multiple vendors and visited jurisdictions using the recommended platform; a chart in the staff report compared features and how the systems meet departmental objectives. “We did put together a fairly detailed staff report. Building staff did go through and analyze several different programs,” McKinney said.
Brandon, OpenGov’s regional manager for the West, told the council the company serves a large number of local governments and that Ripon staff visited nearby jurisdictions using the product. “There are about 2,000 local governments leveraging OpenGov, about 600 of those using this specific platform,” Brandon said, adding the company is headquartered in San Francisco and has a broad presence in California and nationwide.
Council members asked about implementation risks and user experience. Staff said the city allocated $40,000 in the prior year’s budget to set up the program and migrate legacy permitting records; McKinney said that funding covers initial setup. Ongoing annual subscription and licensing fees will be paid from permit fee revenue, and staff will return next month with a proposed fee schedule to cover those costs.
Councilmembers also pressed the vendor on applicant communications and turnaround. Brandon said the system routes correspondence and sends status notifications automatically to applicants, and staff reported visiting other jurisdictions that reported generally positive experiences with the product.
Action: the council approved the master services agreement and the implementation plan; the motion passed 5–0. Staff and OpenGov representatives said they expect an initial implementation phase followed by user training and a fee schedule to be presented to council for adoption.
The city’s next steps include finalizing the master services agreement, migrating historical permit records into the new system, establishing a permit fee structure to cover ongoing costs, and scheduling staff and public training.
