Deputy auditor showcases ClearGov budgeting tools to Madison County Council

Sam Lawrence, deputy auditor, gave the Madison County Council a demonstration of ClearGov, a budgeting and transparency platform the auditor’s office has been configuring for county use.

Lawrence told the council the office has spent the past year uploading data and building scenarios that allow the county to project personnel budgeting from account lines down to position level. He demonstrated how ClearGov can show wages, FICA, retirement and other benefits rolled up to department- and county-level forecasts and described the tool’s what-if scenario capability for one-time adjustments or permanent changes.

The deputy auditor highlighted operational budgeting features, collaboration teams for department-level workspaces, and a public-facing transparency portal that can display county demographics, revenue and expense breakdowns and individualized contributions by property taxpayers. Lawrence said the portal can be exported to a digital budget book compatible with GFOA templates and published for public access.

Councilors asked about access controls and privacy. Lawrence said the system can limit departmental views so, for example, the health department would only see its own data, while administrators retain broader access; he said more work with the vendor is planned to finalize role-based controls.

Several council members and commenters praised the system’s potential to speed budget turnarounds and to make financial information more accessible to nontechnical users. Public commenters later reiterated support and suggested additional use cases such as logistics tracking and capital depreciation reporting.

The auditor’s office will continue to test ClearGov with the vendor and return with answers to outstanding questions and a proposed path for departmental roll out.

The demonstration anchored a broader budget discussion later in the meeting about reductions, bonuses and timing for appropriations.