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Council hears ClearGov demo as staff begins comparison shopping for budget software
Summary
ClearGov presented its budget and transparency software to the Signal Mountain Town Council. Staff said the product could sit atop the town's existing accounting system; councilmembers asked about cost, security, onboarding timelines and data cadence. Staff will continue vendor comparisons and due diligence.
ClearGov, a budget and transparency software vendor, gave a product demonstration at the Signal Mountain Town Council work session on April 28, 2025, and councilmembers asked questions about cost, data security and timing for implementation.
Ryan, ClearGov's presenter, told the council the company focuses on small- and mid-sized local governments and offers a back-office budgeting workspace, scenario-running tools, strategic-plan tracking and a public-facing online budget book that replaces static PDF budget documents. He said ClearGov integrates with common municipal accounting systems via scheduled import/export rather than live direct access.
Council members asked about price, security and how the product would interact with the town's Edmunds accounting system. Ryan said pricing is straightforward, that onboarding can include as much historical data as the town desires (he mentioned no practical limit before ~25 years), and that ClearGov receives data through exports rather than a live link; the company uses major cloud providers and built-in import controls to reduce cyber risk.
On timing, John and Matt (town staff handling finance and administration) told the council that the town is late in the current budget cycle to use the system as the primary build tool this year, but could pilot a budget book and strategic-plan components this summer and aim for fuller use during next year's budget process. ClearGov recommended a pilot using last year's budget book to learn the system and then roll into a full launch.
Council member Myles Jorgensen and others asked about update cadence for web-facing figures. Ryan said governments typically control when updates are exported (monthly or quarterly closes are common); most clients prefer periodic controlled uploads rather than fully automatic live pushes.
No purchase decision was made. Town staff said they will continue to compare vendors and their costs; councilmembers asked staff to return with additional vendor options and cost comparisons before any contract is brought forward. ClearGov provided a sample proposal and said the vendor recommended a three-year contract option with an annual increase clause; town staff said non-budgeting of the service in a subsequent fiscal year would terminate the contract.
