Frequently asked questions
Straight answers, including the ones that are a "no". If something here matters to your decision and you want it demonstrated rather than asserted, ask — that is a reasonable thing to want.
What does CivicDesk311 cost?
The Municipal Launch Program is $1,500, invoiced once, and covers configuration, staff training, managed hosting and support across 60 days of live use, and a results review. Continuing costs $349 per month, billed annually at $4,188 per year, and the entire $1,500 is credited against that first annual term. There is no per-seat licensing and no request cap.
How long does it take to go live?
Week one. One call charts which department handles which request type, then your dedicated instance is deployed on your own subdomain, branded, and embedded in your existing website. There is no procurement marathon, no server to buy, and no IT hire.
Do residents need to create an account?
No. A resident picks a category, drops a pin, optionally adds up to three photos, and submits. They get a tracking link back that shows progress without a password or an app.
Can residents text a request in?
No. Text and email are outbound only — they are how the town confirms receipt and reports progress. Residents file through the web intake, or a staff member enters a phoned-in request on their behalf.
Who owns the data?
Your jurisdiction owns everything submitted through its portal. You can request a full database export at any time and we will provide it, during a launch program or years into a plan. If you leave, you get a final export and your instance and its backups are deleted on your written request.
Is our data in a shared database with other towns?
No. Every jurisdiction runs on its own isolated, private database container. Records are never co-mingled, which is the question that gets asked in open session and the reason the architecture is single-tenant rather than multi-tenant.
How does this handle open records and FOIA requests?
Open records requests are time-stamped on arrival and tracked to closure, so a statutory deadline is a matter of record. Every status change is written to a hash-chained audit trail, and because the database is yours alone, a full export for discovery is one operation rather than a vendor support ticket.
Is the resident portal accessible?
It is built to WCAG 2.1 AA and automated accessibility checks run on every change to the codebase. We do not claim third-party certification, because we have not bought one — an audit is something a town can commission and we will support.
How many staff accounts do we get?
Unlimited, on every plan. Seasonal code officers, a new clerk, or the entire public works crew cost nothing to add, so the system covers everyone who should see it rather than everyone the budget could justify.
How do staff sign in?
Each staff member signs in as themselves with their own username or email and password at /login, and reaches only what their role allows. Sign-in attempts are rate limited and recorded, and repeated failures alert administrators. Single sign-on through Entra, Okta, Auth0, or any OIDC provider is available and not required.
What happens to our data if something breaks?
A complete copy of your database is taken nightly, encrypted on your own server before it is uploaded, and stored in a bucket in your name. Those backups are immutable for a window set to your records guidelines — undeletable by ransomware, by a stolen credential, or by us. A restore is rehearsed table by table before your town goes live.
Does the software phone home?
No. No analytics, no usage reporting, no license check, no registration call, no crash telemetry. It is a claim your own IT staff can verify in an afternoon by watching what leaves the network.
Does it update itself?
No, deliberately. Nothing auto-patches. Updates are a decision we make and apply, so software does not change underneath your staff without anyone having chosen it.
Can residents file in Spanish or another language?
Yes, with a commercial translation provider connected — that capability is metered and priced separately because the cost is a third party’s, not ours. The platform runs without it.
Is there an API?
Yes: Open311 GeoReport v2, the same standard the large city systems publish. It is a real interoperability standard rather than a bespoke interface, so data can move in and out on terms that are not ours to change.
Is this a replacement for 911?
No. CivicDesk311 is for non-emergency requests only. Emergencies go to 911, and the portal says so where a resident will see it.
What if we decide to leave?
You take the data and go. The storage account holding your backups is already in your name at a provider of your choosing, exports are self-service, and the API is a published standard. Nothing in the design makes us hard to leave, which is deliberate.
Do we need IT staff to run it?
No. Hosting, updates, credentials, domains, and backups are ours to manage. The town’s daily work is answering requests; there is no server to patch and nothing to administer.
Fifteen minutes to see the whole front counter.
A walkthrough of the working platform: a pothole report, a billing question, and a burn permit, each filed and each landing in the right department queue. No slide deck, and nothing to configure — setting your town up is what the launch program is for.
Start with the 60-day Municipal Launch Program — $1,500, credited in full toward an annual plan. No automatic conversion.