Subject
title
Authorize the City Manager to Execute Amendment No. 1 to Interlocal Contract for Licensing SCPDC Software by and between the Mayor and Council of Rockville, (“Licensee”), a municipal corporation and body corporate and politic organized under the laws of the State of Maryland; and South Central Planning and Development Commission, (“SCPDC” or “Licensor”), a regional planning commission and political subdivision of the State of Louisiana, domiciled in Terrebonne Parish.
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Department
CPDS - Development Review
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Mayor and Council authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment Number 1 (Attachment 1) between the City of Rockville and SCPDC to continue to provide MyGovernmentOnline software.
Discussion
Background
As recently as 2019, the majority of applications in Community Planning and Development Services (CPDS) were processed with paper applications and plans through a software system that was implemented in 1993. In response to concerns from the public, staff, and the Mayor and Council (M&C) that the plan review process was too long and cumbersome, the City determined that the paper-oriented process should be moved to electronic delivery.
Staff identified MyGovernmentOnline (MGO) to meet these needs. After confirming that the functionality was acceptable and comparable to other systems, staff performed a price cost analysis, which showed that MGO offered significant cost savings over other vendors both initially and on an ongoing basis.
Implementation and Need
MGO was able to be obtained relatively quickly because it is developed, maintained and supported by an agency of the Louisiana state government, South Central Planning and Development Commission, and is offered through an inter-governmental agreement.
The agreement with MGO was initially awarded by the City Manager and signed in February 2021 (Attachment 2), and the first permits went live in October 2021. Since that time, staff has worked to improve both the system and the process. Additional permit types have been configured and launched, most recently all planning and development cases in July 2025 and Public Works’ permits in May of 2026. Additional permit types remain to be configured, such as those associated with Code Enforcement, as well as additional cases for the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Rockville Police Department.
Staff has continued to learn the features and functionality of the system and determined that both the customer and staff experience can be improved by dividing permits into additional modules for Fire Safety, Hotels/Apartments, DPW, Miscellaneous, and Police. Separating these into separate modules allows for convenient inspection scheduling for customers, ease of use for staff, improved maintenance, and better reporting capabilities.
Revised Agreement
The current agreement with MGO renews annually unless terminated by either party. It establishes a set rate per module based on the number of permits the city enters in the system. If the city exceeds this number, we are subject to an overage fee. There have been no cost increases or overage fees since the initial agreement in 2021. On November 2, 2025, staff received a revised quote from MGO, which incorporates the additional modules described above, along with price increases for the remaining existing modules. The new quote also eliminates the overage fee.
The proposed changes result in an annual increase from $38,280 to $84,066. Although this is a significant increase, this is the first cost increase since 2021, and the total cost is still comparable or less than other similar systems, particularly when considering the lack of up-front costs and other additional ongoing costs such as support, custom reports, or staff training. Additionally, though the agreement is renewed every year and subject to changes such as CPI increases, staff does not anticipate the need for any additional modules or other significant increases. Most permits are already live, with only few left to be configured. The addition of these new modules will allow us to continue to improve service to our customers, improve functionality for staff, and ensure accurate reporting.
The Office of the City Attorney has reviewed Amendment No. 1 and has approved it as to form.
Mayor and Council History
This is the first time this item is being brought to the Mayor and Council for consideration.
Procurement
In accordance with Chapter 17, "Procurement," Section 17-72, of the Rockville City Code, the City may
contract directly with other public entities to receive any work or services of the type the other public entity performs for its jurisdiction. This software was developed by the South Central Planning and Development Commission for use within its jurisdiction and for use by other jurisdictions. Additionally, contracts with other public bodies are exempt from competitive procurement per City Code Section 17-87 (a)(5) entitled “Exemptions.”
Fiscal Impact
The FY 2027 adopted budget includes funding for MGO, including costs associated with the revised agreement (Attachment 1). All future years appropriations are subject to Mayor and Council approval.
Next Steps
After approval by Mayor and Council, the Procurement Department will take the necessary steps to execute the Amendment No. 1 and issue the necessary purchase order to obtain the enhanced software.