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Council reviews website-hosting proposals and a combined sanitation-billing option
Summary
Staff reviewed multiple website vendors and a combined website-plus-sanitation-billing proposal; CivicPlus, Revise, Granicus and smaller firms were discussed, and staff confirmed a multi-part procurement will be returned for council approval.
City staff reviewed proposals from several website-hosting vendors and a combined website-and-sanitation-billing option during a Walnut Grove work session. Staff members said the city needs a more transactional website (online bill pay, facility reservations, calendar and permitting) rather than only an information site.
Joe Walter, city clerk, and other staff compared CivicPlus, Revise, Granicus, Municipal Impact, Unibet and at least one smaller regional provider. Walter told the council CivicPlus offers a robust, secure platform but at a higher cost; the lower-cost vendors are more template-based and may limit extensions. “Civic Plus, I believe, is outside of our price range,” Walter said. He described Revise and Granicus as higher-cost, full-service options that build custom sites and carry higher first-year transfer costs.
Staff also presented a combined solution proposal to include sanitation billing integrated into the city’s billing platform. One vendor proposal cited a first-year combined investment of roughly $15,000 and recurring annual costs thereafter for a cloud-based billing and website platform; Walter said that combined option would convert sanitation billing into a web-billed enterprise.
Council members asked whether the city needed the higher-end platforms’ “white-glove” content-transfer services. Rachel, a staff member working on the project, said the city could choose a template-based vendor and handle content transfer internally if desired. “We’re basically an information site right now… we need to transition from not just an information site, but to a workable site that’s got additional features,” she said.
Staff noted timelines varied widely: CivicPlus estimated a six- to eight-week implementation; other vendors could take months. Council asked staff to prepare procurement documents and bring a recommended vendor and contract to the council at a future meeting.
What’s next: Staff will prepare a procurement package for website hosting and a separate or combined solicitation for sanitation billing; the recommendation will return to council for a formal vote.
