Each of these questions has a recommended approach and a reference point from similar contexts. None of them are blockers, but they all need an owner.
How do commissioners log in?
The question100+ commissioners need a way to access the portal. Managing passwords is extra work. Shared links are insecure.
Recommended approachMagic link email: commissioner clicks a link in their inbox and is automatically signed in, no password needed. Alternatively, Google sign-in works because all NYC agencies use Google Workspace accounts.
Reference: Most modern civic platforms use magic links or Google sign-in for exactly this reason. Both approaches are well-established and require no new accounts from commissioners.
Where does commissioner data live?
The questionCommissioners are writing pre-decisional content about their agencies. That information needs to stay in a known, secure location.
Recommended approachThe portal is a read-and-write interface only. All action plan responses and registration records write back to the existing Notion workspace, which the program team already manages.
Reference: Notion holds SOC 2 Type II certification and meets standard data protection requirements. The program team's existing workspace already operates under this standard. No new data storage or vendor relationships are needed.
What if the portal goes down?
The questionA custom portal can have outages. If it goes down during an active onboarding window, commissioners can't access their materials.
Recommended approachDeploy to a managed hosting platform (Vercel or Netlify). Both offer 99.99% availability, automatic backups, and instant rollback if something goes wrong. Cost is roughly $0 to $20 per month at this scale.
Reference: These platforms power production tools for major news organizations and civic tech projects. Outage incidents are rare and recovery takes minutes, not hours.
Who updates the content over time?
The questionSession dates change, module descriptions evolve, and the summit date needs updating. If only the original developer can make changes, that's a fragile dependency.
Recommended approachBuild the portal so that most content — module descriptions, session dates, commissioner rosters — is managed in Notion, where the team already works. Changes in Notion reflect automatically in the portal through the existing Zapier pipeline.
Reference: This pattern is common in modern web tools. Content lives in the tool teams are comfortable with; the front-end reads from it. Program team members can update content without touching the underlying code.
What does this actually cost?
The questionBuilding a custom portal sounds expensive. The team should have a clear picture before recommending it to the client.
Recommended approachSeparate the one-time build cost from ongoing infrastructure. Infrastructure is nearly free. Build cost depends on who builds it and how much can be adapted from the prototype already in hand.
Rough cost ranges:
Hosting infrastructure at this scale: $0 to $25/month
Build starting from the current prototype: 3 to 5 weeks of development
Notion-only (current state): no additional cost
Does this need to go through city procurement?
The questionCity agencies operate under procurement rules and federal scrutiny. A tool used by city officials may need to meet baseline requirements.
Recommended approachThis portal is an HR&A-hosted tool used by commissioners, not a city-procured system. It does not go through city IT procurement. Confirm before launch: HTTPS, no personal information stored outside Notion, no advertising or tracking.
Reference: Third-party tools used internally by city administration (Slack, Google Workspace, Notion itself) operate under this same model. HR&A procures and hosts; city staff use it. This is standard practice at City Hall.