A city website upgrade and the RFP cycle for city websites should not take longer to buy than to build. Yet many municipalities spend most of a year writing specifications, running evaluation committees, and negotiating custom scopes before redesigning a single page. With ADA Title II compliance dates arriving in April 2027 and April 2028, that timeline is a real risk.
The fix is not to skip competition. Auditors, council members, and losing bidders all notice when a purchase looks like it sidestepped the rules. The fix is to buy in a way that is both faster and easier to defend. Here is how procurement-ready government software makes that possible, and what your finance director will want to know before you start.
Step 1: Confirm which rules actually apply
State law and local ordinance set bid thresholds for local governments, and they vary widely. Before anyone drafts an RFP, ask your purchasing agent or city attorney three questions:
- What is our formal bid threshold?
- Which purchasing methods are allowed below it?
- Are any federal funds involved?
That last question matters. If federal grant dollars pay for the purchase, the federal Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200.320 also applies. As of October 1, 2025, the federal micro-purchase threshold rose from $10,000 to $15,000, and the simplified acquisition threshold rose from $250,000 to $350,000. When state, local, and federal rules differ, follow the most restrictive one.
Step 2: Look for a cooperative or piggyback contract
Many states let local governments buy from a contract another public agency has already awarded competitively. That can happen directly (often called “piggybacking”) or through national cooperative purchasing organizations. Federal grant rules encourage this too: 2 CFR 200.318(e) encourages intergovernmental and inter-entity agreements for common goods and services. The GSA Cooperative Purchasing Program also lets state and local governments buy information technology from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule.
Before using any cooperative contract, confirm two things: your state authorizes it, and the original solicitation was genuinely competitive. Done correctly, it can replace months of solicitation work with a documented, defensible purchase.
Step 3: Buy a product, not a project
Custom website builds need detailed specifications because the vendor is building something that does not exist yet. Every unclear requirement becomes a change order. Platform-as-a-service is different: you can evaluate a working product before you buy it. That lets you replace long feature essays with short, testable, outcome-based requirements, such as:
- Conformance to WCAG 2.1 Level AA or higher, documented in a current Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR).
- Role-based permissions so each department edits only its own content.
- Hosting, security updates, and platform maintenance included, with a published uptime commitment.
- Content export in a standard format if the contract ends.
- A live demo of your city’s real tasks, such as posting an agenda, publishing a bid, or sending an alert.
Shorter requirements mean shorter proposals, faster evaluations, and less room for disputes over unclear scoring. Where your rules allow it, a request for quotes (RFQ), or a request for information (RFI) followed by scripted demos, can move faster than a full RFP.
Step 4: Understand how a subscription hits the budget, including GASB 96
Cities usually budget a subscription as a recurring operating expense, not a one-time capital request. For many cities, that is the difference between waiting for the next capital improvement cycle and funding the upgrade from an existing operating line.
There is one accounting detail your finance director will raise, and it is better to raise it first. GASB Statement No. 96 took effect for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2022. It requires governments to report most subscription-based IT arrangements on their financial statements as a subscription liability plus an intangible right-to-use asset.
Short-term arrangements are excluded. These are subscriptions with a maximum possible term of 12 months or less, including renewal options. A multi-year website subscription may therefore appear on your annual comprehensive financial report even though you pay it from an operating budget. That is not a reason to avoid subscriptions. It is a reason to bring in finance and your auditor before the contract is signed, not after.
Step 5: Ask for a procurement packet on day one
Procurement-ready software comes from a vendor that can hand your team everything it needs within days, not weeks. Ask for:
- W-9 and certificate of insurance
- A standard subscription agreement for your attorney to review
- Pricing tied to population or another published tier, with renewal terms stated
- A current ACR and the WCAG version it covers
- Security documentation and data handling terms
- Data export terms
- References from cities of similar size
How City of Anywhere fits your RFP cycle for city websites
We built our commercial terms around how cities actually buy:
- Pricing is based on your population and needs, and every feature is available at every tier.
- We invoice annually, or monthly if your city allows. Terms are NET30 for annual and NET14 for monthly, payable by ACH, card, or check.
- Annual invoicing is discounted compared with monthly, and a three-year agreement waives the onboarding fee.
- Hosting, platform updates, and maintenance are included in the subscription.
- Implementation is measured in weeks, not months, from signed agreement to live site. The exact timeline depends on your content volume and approvals.
If your city requires a formal RFQ or RFP, we respond to them. If you are drafting one, we are glad to share the outcome-based requirements above.
Once you are live, our Bids, RFPs, and Procurement feature helps you run your own solicitations in the open, with the documentation auditors expect. For a deeper look at costs, read How to Budget for a City Website, or book a 30-minute demo.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a city buy website software without an RFP?
Sometimes. It depends on your state and local thresholds, whether federal funds are involved, and whether a valid cooperative contract is available. Your purchasing agent or city attorney should confirm the method before you commit.
Is SaaS an operating expense or a capital expense for governments?
For budgeting, subscriptions are usually funded from operating lines. For financial reporting, GASB 96 generally requires subscriptions longer than 12 months to be recorded as a subscription asset and liability. Your finance director and auditor can confirm the treatment for a specific contract.
What does “procurement-ready government software” mean?
It means three things. The product already exists. You can see it demonstrated against your real tasks. And it comes with the documents your purchasing, legal, IT, and accessibility staff need to approve it quickly.
