Linn County, Iowa, Benefits from Granular, Real-time Reporting with OpenGov Online Budget Book

Among many budgeting issues in Linn County, IA, was the lack of granular, real-time reporting. Officials wanted an innovative tech solution that also included an online budget book, so they partnered with OpenGov, the leader in modern cloud software for our nation’s cities and counties.

Iowa’s second most populous County, which is home to Cedar Rapids, had attempted to install an online budgeting solution, but two years and $200,000 later, the solution failed to deploy. In the meantime, staff worried about errors as they keyed reports into Excel and manually created a budget document. That left a large void in reporting—staff did not have real-time access to details. What’s more, Finance staff were running ragged, tracking down information for other departments and scheduling meetings to answer budgeting questions. The waste of time and money had to stop. That’s when OpenGov Budgeting & Planning came to the rescue.

With OpenGov Budgeting & Planning, time spent in meetings and tracking down information will be greatly reduced as staff across departments will have access to one budgeting platform, where they can send and receive budget proposals, track performance, and comment on key reports. But the biggest headache for staff—manually developing reports—will go away with the ability to create one source of truth. Staff from multiple departments will be able to collaborate in one budget document, where data is immediately updated. Conflicting, multiple budget book versions will make way for a sustainable, repeatable process. Plus, the interactive online budget book will help the County tell its story and show taxpayers exactly how dollars are being spent, resulting in greater trust.

Linn County joins more than 1,600 public sector organizations leveraging OpenGov to revolutionize work processes with cloud-based software designed specifically for the needs of government. 

About OpenGov

OpenGov is the leader in modern cloud software for our nation’s cities, counties, and state agencies. With a mission to power more effective and accountable government, OpenGov serves more than 1,600 agencies across the U.S. and is built exclusively for the unique budgeting, procurement, asset management, and citizen services needs of the public sector. The OpenGov Cloud makes organizations more collaborative and efficient and enables best-in-class communication with stakeholders and community.

Published: December 27, 2022