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Finance committee hears presentations on ClearGov budget tool and ValueBase assessment software
Summary
The New Castle County Administrative Finance Committee heard presentations Jan. 13 from the county CFO on two proposed contracts — a three‑year ClearGov budget platform and a ValueBase AI tool to speed property‑tax appeals — and asked whether tools could increase public access or reduce staff time.
County Chief Financial Officer Dave Del Grande told the Administrative Finance Committee on Jan. 13 that the county has been using the same budget documents for “well over 30 years” and proposed a three‑year contract with ClearGov to create an interactive, online budget book and automate financial-document creation.
“The county has been using the same budget documents for well over 30 years,” Del Grande said, describing the product as a “one‑stop” interface that would allow departments to enter information into the county’s Munis system and reduce internal handoffs. He said the ClearGov contract would cost about $68,000 in year one with recurring 3% increases in years two and three and added, “It’s so efficient that I will be removing 1 position from my budget office as a result of that.”
Del Grande also presented a separate agreement with ValueBase, an appraisal and appeal‑support platform that uses automated comparable‑sales reports. Del Grande told the committee the county saw roughly 5,000 appeals in the first year of its reassessment and expects the number to grow; he said ValueBase can pull comps, generate a report for a certified assessor to validate, and reduce a 30‑minute review to roughly five minutes.
Council members focused questions on operational impacts and public access. Councilman Smiley asked whether the ClearGov tool would reduce manual effort and whether the technology would change council duties; Del Grande answered that the platform would not alter council hearings or responsibilities but would standardize materials. On ValueBase, committee members asked whether automated comparable‑sales reports could be made accessible to the public to reduce appeals; Del Grande said the product can be configured to search specified date ranges and use the same criteria the county uses for valuations.
Chair Councilman John Cartier noted for the record that the ValueBase item carries an approximate fiscal‑year cost of $119,000 for FY26 and said future renewals would return to council as purchase orders or subsequent resolutions. There was no public comment recorded for either item during the meeting.
Next steps: the items were presented and discussed in committee; the transcript does not record a final committee vote on these resolutions during the Jan. 13 meeting.
