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Vallejo approves OpenGov budgeting platform to replace spreadsheet process; staff to run parallel validation with Central Square
Summary
Council unanimously approved a master services agreement with OpenGov for budgeting, forecasting and public‑facing transparency tools (not to exceed $440,392.77). Staff said the system will integrate with Central Square, run parallel validation for 2024–25 data and deploy a six‑month implementation with training for department users.
The Vallejo City Council voted unanimously March 26 to approve a master services agreement with OpenGov Inc. to implement an enterprise budgeting, forecasting and transparency platform to replace the city’s spreadsheet‑based process.
Finance staff and an OpenGov representative described the benefits: nightly integrations with Central Square for budget‑to‑actual reporting, multi‑period forecasting (up to 36 periods), scenario planning for contracts and CIP impacts, public‑facing budget transparency, and on‑demand training (OpenGov University) plus a dedicated customer‑success manager. Phil Fisher of OpenGov said the company provides SOC 2 security and a standard SLA with tiered response times for high‑risk tickets.
Council members pressed on three topics before voting: the cost relative to smaller project‑management tools, data‑validation and parallel testing with Central Square, and the service‑level agreement and security posture. Assistant City Manager Nolongo Connolly said the city issued an RFP with multiple respondents, concluded OpenGov provided the full set of required budget features, and that staff had budgeted roughly $200,000 already and would fund the remainder from the current year budget. Rochelle (finance) said the implementation team will validate historical ACFR‑level numbers and then run budget development in parallel to ensure correct integration before full cutover.
Public commenters asked about the price and whether lower‑cost project tools could substitute; staff and OpenGov replied the value comes from government‑specific forecasting, ADA‑compliant public transparency and forecasting tied to labor and benefits assumptions.
The council adopted the master services agreement not to exceed $440,392.77 and authorized the city manager to execute the contract. Implementation is planned to begin promptly with a target of July 1 to be available for parallel use in the upcoming budget cycle; departments will receive role‑based training and a validation period will precede full reliance on the system.
