ClearGov Launches Financial Engagement Platform to Build Community Trust Through Budget Transparency

Financial Engagement is a new AI-powered platform that helps local governments build community alignment before budgets, tax votes, overrides, and capital plans move forward.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ClearGov today announced the launch of Financial Engagement, a community trust and budget alignment platform that gives government leaders and constituents a platform to align on spending priorities before budgets go to a vote, overrides go to the ballot, or capital plans go to council. Three governments and one library participated in ClearGov's Early Adopter Program including Rochester Hills, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Placer County, California; and Southwest Public Libraries, Ohio.

As municipalities face tightening budgets and increasing costs, transparent communication is more important than ever to maintain healthy communities and constructive dialogue. Financial Engagement is an end-to-end solution for municipal leaders to publish, communicate, and engage constituents around financial priorities and planning.

“Today’s constituents are online sharing opinions, commenting, and having conversations about municipal spending. The key is to turn those conversations into constructive, actionable dialog that builds alignment and better decisions. That's what ClearGov makes possible.” — Tyler Davey, CEO of ClearGov.

Financial Engagement is purpose-built to help finance teams meet the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) updated Distinguished Budget Award criteria, where points are now awarded for digital engagement, community participation, and transparent decision-making. AI-powered plain-language summaries, sentiment data, and two-way feedback channels map directly to the Communications Device category of the award.

Financial Engagement turns financial communication into an active, two-way, year-round channel between local government and the residents it serves. Core capabilities include:

• AI-powered financial storytelling that converts budget data into interactive narratives residents can understand
• AI Insights that give finance teams data on what their community understands, values, and wants funded
• Two-way engagement tools including polls, surveys, and open questions delivered via web and SMS
• Activation support to drive constituent engagement year-round

What Early Adopters Say

“The data behind Financial Engagement is gold. It helps us connect community input directly to our decisions and invest resources where they matter most.” — Bryan Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills, Michigan

“We recognized an engagement gap where residents might want to know more, but don't know where to start. The Financial Engagement platform closes that gap by turning hundreds of pages of data into an interactive, visual experience giving any resident or business owner a seat at the table.” — Joe Snyder, Chief Financial Officer of Rochester Hills, Michigan

ClearGov’s Financial Engagement solution is available starting today here. Read the full Rochester Hills case study.

About ClearGov
ClearGov makes it easy to plan, build, and present your budget with confidence. Over 1700 local governments, school districts, and state agencies use ClearGov to bring stakeholders together in one central platform to manage the complete finance cycle – planning, budgeting, reporting, and engaging the community. Purpose-built for the unique requirements of the public sector, ClearGov is how teams modernize to get work done easier, faster, and how they tell their financial story in a way that builds trust and support. ClearGov is proudly endorsed by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and is an Affinity Partner with the International Association of School Business Officials (ASBO). For more information, visit www.cleargov.com.