West Hollywood, California
This Creative City Accelerates Contract Approval Process from Months to 7-10 Days

West Hollywood

Location

California

Population

35,757 (2020)

ClearGov solution

ClearForms

Primary Objective

Streamline and speed up contract approvals

Save time and increase transparency through a digital solution that would allow the city to streamline and accelerate their contract approval process by managing contracts online.

Challenge

Paper-based, slow contract workflows

West Hollywood’s contracting department was burdened by a manual, paper contract process. Contract request forms sat for days or weeks waiting for approval, and staff had to constantly chase down status updates by email. Vendors also struggled to get timely responses. The back-and-forth between departmental, finance, and legal teams made it difficult to move contracts efficiently — a pain point that hindered both internal operations and transparency.

Using ClearGov has really sped up the approval process for our Encroachment permits. With the system’s formula tools we can automatically calculate even complex fees and approve permits quickly.
Jose Rodriguez, Engineer Intern, West Hollywood, CA

Solution

Adopting ClearGov ClearForms for contracts

West Hollywood implemented ClearGov’s ClearForms to digitize and automate their contract approval and permitting workflows. They built internal workflows for things like Encroachment Permits, and also leveraged public templates (e.g., for parking permits) to get started faster. The step-based workflow lets reviewers (finance, legal, department heads) simultaneously see status in real time. The system sends automatic notifications when submissions hit important milestones, reducing delays and making stale or lost requests a thing of the past. The city even set up and launched the system without hiring external or deep IT help — no consultants required.

… increasing the speed of contract review and approval benefits everyone involved.
Francisco Contreras, Innovation Manager, West Hollywood, CA

Results

Faster approvals, better communication, less friction

Contract processing time was reduced dramatically — what previously took months now reliably takes 7–10 days.
Multiple reviewers (legal, finance, departments) can now act in parallel, improving speed and transparency.
A completeness-check built into each step helps ensure all required information is submitted upfront, reducing the back-and-forth of missing documents.
The digitized workflow has improved transparency and communication between contract administrators and departmental staff.
The project was recognized in a Smart Cities / APA report, highlighting its innovative approach to workflow modernization.