Finance committee approves contract for online ordinance codification with CivicPlus

The Finance Committee voted 3-0 on April 7 to authorize the city manager to sign an agreement with CivicPlus for online publication and codification of Homewood’s municipal code and ordinances.

Mister Seagrest, the city clerk, explained the service publishes ordinances and keeps the city’s codified municipal code up to date on the website. He said the vendor previously charged per page and that a flat-rate contract would be more cost-efficient. Seagrest told the committee the vendor offered a discounted first-year rate and that the service will be charged to the municipal code and codification account rather than general contractual services.

Seagrest said the first-year fee would be billed at a discounted rate (reported in the committee discussion as "$24.75") with the annual fee thereafter reported as $3,300. He said his plan is to post updates quarterly unless an urgent ordinance requires faster publication.

Council members asked whether the first-year price was discounted because it would not cover a full year; Seagrest confirmed the vendor had offered a credit for the partial-year start. Committee members approved a motion from Mister Brandt, seconded by Mister Walton, and the vote was recorded 3-0 in favor.

Seagrest said the city already maintains ordinances in two places online (current website and the new codification service) and will use the municipal code and codification account to cover the subscription. The contract was placed for signature by the city manager so the vendor can begin implementing the codification process.