What is agenda management software?
Agenda management software helps local governments create, organize, and publish meeting agendas for city councils, county boards, school boards, and other governing bodies. It replaces manual processes like Word documents and paper-based workflows with a digital platform that manages the entire meeting lifecycle — from agenda creation through official minutes publication.
How does Govably compare to CivicPlus?
CivicPlus (formerly CivicClerk) is a legacy government technology platform with complex onboarding, enterprise-level pricing, and an AI tool that only edits formatting — it doesn't write minutes. Govably offers a modern interface, a true AI minutes builder, live meeting mode with real-time per-member voting, automatic minute order numbering, and a citizen-facing portal — all without a lengthy 6-week implementation process. Govably was built for any governing body that holds public meetings.
How does Govably compare to Granicus?
Granicus Legistar is the dominant player in government meeting software — but its pricing reflects that. Granicus Legistar contracts are enterprise-level, multi-year, auto-renewing, and documented to increase at renewal. Their AI features are still being rolled out and focus on agenda summaries, not minutes writing. Govably was built from the ground up for modern government: transparent pricing, fast setup, and an AI that actually drafts your complete official minutes — not just summarizes bullet points.
Is Govably compliant with Open Meetings laws?
Yes. Govably includes configurable legal notices for Open Meetings Act compliance, ADA accommodation notices, posting certifications, executive session citations, and public comment procedures. Legal notices are customizable per organization and auto-generated on agendas and meeting packets. The platform supports state-specific requirements across the country.
How does the live citizen portal work?
Govably provides a public-facing web page for each meeting that requires no login for citizens. It shows the full agenda, agenda packets with attachments, and live vote results as they happen during the meeting. Citizens can also sign up to speak during public comment directly from the portal.
Can department heads submit agenda items for review?
Yes. Govably includes a configurable approval workflow where department heads and staff submit agenda item requests. These requests go through admin-defined approval stages before reaching the agenda. The clerk or admin can track every request, approve, reject, or defer items, and add them to the appropriate meeting.
How are official minutes generated?
During a meeting, the clerk uses Meeting Mode to record per-member votes (yea, nay, abstain), motions, and seconds for each agenda item. Govably's AI Minutes Builder then drafts official minutes from these records — including attendance, vote tallies, and sequential minute order numbers. The clerk can drag to reorder sections, toggle page breaks, add custom language, and export to PDF or Word, or publish online for citizen access.
What types of government bodies can use Govably?
Govably works for any governing body that holds public meetings with agendas and recorded votes. This includes city councils, county boards of supervisors, school boards, hospital districts, water districts, fire districts, transit authorities, tribal councils, housing authorities, and special purpose districts. The section structure, agenda numbering, minute order format, and legal notices are all configurable per organization.
How is Govably hosted and is my data secure?
Govably runs entirely on Google Cloud infrastructure via Firebase. Data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+). There are no servers to manage. Google Cloud maintains SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications. Each organization's data is isolated with role-based access controls enforced at the database level.
