HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso Open CheckbookCity of Sunny Isles Beach '
18070 Collins Avenue
Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 33160
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(305) 949-3113 Fax
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners
FROM: Fabiola Stuyvesant, Commissioner
DATE: March 19, 2026
RE: Resolution Directing the City Manager to Activate and Publish the Public -
Facing "Open Checkbook" Portal on the City3CTMs Existing Financial Software
RECOMMENDATION:
This resolution is presented for your consideration.
REASONS:
Adoption of this Resolution directs the City Manager and the IT/Finance Departments to immediately
activate, populate, and publish the public -facing "Transparency/Open Checkbook" features of the City's
existing OpenGov municipal software within thirty (30) days, ensuring that all municipal vendor
payments, check registers, and expenditures are fully searchable and accessible to the public online.
The City of Sunny Isles Beach operates a proposed annual budget of approximately $232.7 million. As
fiduciary stewards of these taxpayer funds, the City Commission has a profound obligation to ensure
that every dollar spent is easily accessible and visible to the public.
In late 2023, the City Commission approved a three-year contract, costing taxpayers approximately
$228,985, to procure OpenGov—a premier municipal budgeting and financial software utilized by
governments nationwide. A hallmark feature of the OpenGov platform is its public "Transparency
Portal" or "Open Checkbook," which allows residents to instantly search, filter, and track every check the
city cuts in real-time. Neighboring municipalities, such as the Village of Key Biscayne, utilize similar
platforms to provide proactive, real-time financial transparency to their residents.
Despite having already purchased this software with public funds, the City of Sunny Isles Beach
currently utilizes OpenGov strictly for internal administrative functions. The public -facing transparency
portal remains unactivated. Consequently, residents seeking to view specific vendor payments,
Item Number: 9.W
427
municipal checks, or expenditures are forced to navigate a cumbersome, delayed, and labor-intensive
Public Records Request process.
Commissioner Stuyvesant brings forward this Resolution as a formal policy directive. The taxpayers of
Sunny Isles Beach have already paid for top -tier transparency software; they should not be locked out of
it.
This Resolution directs the City Administration to activate the OpenGov public portal within thirty (30)
days, linking it directly to the City's website so that residents can view vendor payments and check
registers without bureaucratic delay.
It must be noted on the public record that a vote against this Resolution is not a vote to save money —as
the software is already paid for —but rather a vote to deliberately conceal financial data that the City
already possesses the technological capability to publish.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The City has already procured and funded the OpenGov software platform. Activating its public
transparency features will result in long-term cost savings by drastically reducing the administrative
staff hours currently spent fulfilling routine financial public records requests.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
Item Number: 9.W
428
RESOLUTION NO. 2026 -
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH,
FLORIDA, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACTIVATE, POPULATE, AND
PUBLISH THE PUBLIC -FACING "OPEN CHECKBOOK" AND TRANSPARENCY
PORTAL OF THE CITY'S EXISTING OPENGOV MUNICIPAL SOFTWARE; REQUIRING
SAID PORTAL TO BE ACCESSIBLE VIA THE CITY'S WEBSITE WITHIN THIRTY (30)
DAYS; ESTABLISHING A POLICY OF PROACTIVE FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY TO
REDUCE PUBLIC RECORDS BURDENS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Sunny Isles Beach (the "City") exercises
strict fiduciary duty over the City's financial assets, overseeing a proposed annual budget of
approximately $232.7 million; and
WHEREAS, true municipal transparency requires that taxpayers have direct, unimpeded
access to view how theirtax dollars are being spent, including access to municipal check registers,
vendor payments, and line -item expenditures; and
WHEREAS, in late 2023, the City allocated approximately $228,985 in taxpayer funds to
procure a three-year contract for OpenGov, a premier municipal financial software platform; and
WHEREAS, the OpenGov platform includes built-in, public -facing "Transparency Portal"
and "Open Checkbook" features designed specifically to allow residents to easily search and track
municipal spending in real-time; and
WHEREAS, despite having purchased this capability with public funds, City Administration
currently utilizes the software strictly for internal purposes, leaving the public -facing portal
deactivated; and
WHEREAS, the failure to utilize this existing technology forces residents to endure
cumbersome, delayed, and staff -intensive Public Records Requests simply to view standard
vendor payments; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to establish a policy of "proactive transparency"
by utilizing the technological tools the City has already purchased to open the municipal
checkbook to the public.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SUNNY
ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified
and confirmed as being true and correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Resolution
upon adoption hereof.
Section 2. Directive to Activate the Open Checkbook. The City Commission hereby directs
the City Manager, in coordination with the Finance and Information Technology Departments, to
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fully activate, populate, and publish the public -facing "Transparency/Open Checkbook" features
of the City's existing OpenGov financial software.
Section 3. Scope of Accessibility. The public portal shall, at a minimum, allow the public to
search, view, and filter municipal check registers, vendor payments, and general expenditures.
Section 4. Strict Timeline. The City Manager is strictly directed to complete the activation of
this portal and provide a direct, easily accessible link on the homepage of the official Sunny Isles
Beach municipal website no later than thirty (30) days from the effective date of this Resolution.
Section 5. Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its
adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on this 19th day of March, 2026.
ATTEST:
Mauricio Betancur, CIVIC, City Clerk
Larisa Svechin, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM
AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
Alain E. Boileau, for Nabors, Giblin
& Nickerson, P.A., City Attorney
Moved by:& seconded by: _<;cmD I -�
VOTE:
Mayor Svechin
(yes)
(no)
Vice Mayor Viscarra
(yes)
(no)
Commissioner Lama
(yes)
(no)
Commissioner Joseph
(yes)
(no)
Commissioner Stuyvesant
(yes)
(no)
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