What the launch program actually covers
Sixty days of live municipal use, not a sandbox. We deploy your dedicated instance, configure department routing to your real organizational chart, train the staff who will answer requests, and run hosting and support for the duration. At the end, a results review covers what came in, where it went, and how long it took to close — the material a town administrator needs to take to a council meeting.
If you continue, the entire $1,500 comes off your first annual term, which puts the real first-year cost at $4,188. If you do not, nothing further is billed, you get a final export of your data, and your instance and its backups are deleted on your written request.
Why it is priced this way
The enterprise GovTech quote for a system like this runs $15,000 to $35,000 a year, bills per seat, and takes six months to deploy through committee votes. That math does not work for a town of four thousand people, so the flat rate is deliberately set to sit below the discretionary spending limit of most town administrators and county commissioners — low enough to approve without a special session.
Unlimited staff seats are part of the same reasoning. Per-seat pricing quietly decides who is allowed to see the queue, and in a town where three people wear nine hats, that is the wrong thing for a price list to decide.
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 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 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.
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.
More questions are answered on the frequently asked questions page.