Steuben Partners with OpenGov to Modernize Budgeting and Open Data



Jack Wheeler

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Steuben County and OpenGov, the world’s first integrated cloud solution for public sector budgeting, reporting and open data, announced today they will begin to roll out the OpenGov Smart Government PlatformTM for the county. The new cloud-based software will help Steuben County simplify its budget planning, improve its internal data management, and make important information easily accessible to its citizens and elected officials. The county aims to set a new standard for government transparency and efficiency in the State of New York, and plans to have its OpenGov platform fully up and running in early 2017.

The software platform deployment will include OpenGov Budget BuilderTM, a first-of-its-kind online product designed to streamline the budgeting process for governments. The web-based OpenGov Budget Builder enables cross-departmental collaboration, and will eliminate the need for Steuben officials to use numerous complicated Excel spreadsheets when they plan the county’s $177 million budget. Steuben will join a growing number of leading governments nationwide that have begun using OpenGov Budget Builder since its release in fall 2016. Many those governments have reported cutting their clerical work in half by adopting OpenGov Budget Builder.

“Steuben County is committed to ensuring our citizens can easily access information about how their tax dollars are being spent,” said county Manager Jack Wheeler. “OpenGov technologies make that possible, and at the same time increase our operational efficiency, saving time and money so we can collaborate and serve the public more effectively.”

In addition to the new budgeting solution, Steuben County will implement OpenGov IntelligenceTM, which gives department managers, executives, and elected officials access to vital financial and performance information that can improve strategic decision-making. 
Intelligence, the county will also launch a new public transparency site built with OpenGov TransparencyTM, which opens data to the public, enabling greater understanding of how tax dollars are being spent. “Both citizens and government officials deserve the open and efficient government operations that modern technology can deliver,” said OpenGov CEO and Co-Founder Zac Bookman. “It’s encouraging to see more cities and counties like Steuben move to modernize the way they handle finances and data. It establishes a new standard for informed governing.”

According to Wheeler, the OpenGov Smart Government Platform will provide a tremendous advantage as the county increasingly shares data with other agencies in New York and seeks to automatically visualize important data for the public, elected officials, and internal decision makers.