— The Clerk’s Desk —

Practical guides for local government clerks and administrators.

Practical guides on agenda management, ADA compliance, open meetings law, and the day-to-day work of running public meetings.

— made specifically for local governments.

State Law · 13 min read

Texas Open Meetings Act (Chapter 551): The 72-Hour Agenda Rule and Where Clerks Actually Get Tripped Up

Every Texas clerk can recite the 72-hour rule. Far fewer can name the case law that defines "sufficiently apprises," the population thresholds that trigger Sec. 551.056 website posting, or the 2019 amendments that rewrote how walking-quorum prosecutions work.

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State Law · 12 min read

Florida Sunshine Law (Sec. 286.011, F.S.): What Agenda Notice Actually Requires in 2026

"Reasonable notice" is the statutory phrase. Forty years of AG opinions and appellate decisions have given it a much more specific meaning than the words alone — and the digital posting era added a layer the original drafters never anticipated.

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State Law · 11 min read

Colorado House Bill 21-1110: A Clerk's Field Guide to Accessible Meeting Agendas

The HB 21-1110 grace period ended in July 2025. Here's what Colorado's digital accessibility law actually requires of your agenda packets, where most clerks are still exposed, and how to close the gap before a complaint forces the issue.

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Industry · 10 min read

What Happens to Your Software Contract When Your GovTech Vendor Gets Acquired?

CivicPlus, Granicus, and BoardDocs are all backed by private equity. Here's what the acquisition pattern typically means for your renewal price, your contract terms, and your options — and what to look for before you sign anything.

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Comparison · 14 min read

CivicPlus vs Granicus Legistar vs Govably: Which Agenda Software Is Right for Counties Under 100k?

An honest, side-by-side breakdown of the three platforms — feature depth, pricing model, implementation time, support, and which size of organization each one actually fits. Yes, we make one of them. We will say so when it matters.

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Transparency · 8 min read

Live Citizen Portals: How Real-Time Transparency Builds Public Trust

Posting the agenda PDF the day before is the bare legal minimum. A live portal — votes updating in real time, packet documents accessible without a login, public comment sign-up from any phone — changes how citizens experience their own government.

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Compliance · 12 min read

ADA Compliance for Local Government Meetings: A Practical Guide for Clerks in 2026

Title II covers your meetings. Most clerks know that, but few know what it actually requires for agendas, minutes, public comment, and digital documents. Here is what compliance looks like in practice.

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Workflow · 10 min read

How to Move from Microsoft Word to Modern Agenda Software in 30 Days

A practical, week-by-week plan for clerks ready to retire the Word-and-email agenda workflow. What to migrate first, what to leave behind, and how to bring council members along without a revolt.

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