The Town of Newburgh on Wednesday approved purchase of a unified permitting and code-enforcement software system intended to put the clerk-treasurer’s office, town administration and the utility on a single platform.
Town Manager Chris Cook presented the recommendation and said, “with your approval tonight, they could have us up and running about 8 weeks,” referring to the vendor’s estimated timeline. Cook said the cost would be split between the utility and the civil town and that there will be an annual maintenance fee after the first year.
Why it matters: Officials said a single software backbone will reduce training time for employees who now use multiple systems and will make it easier to share data across departments.
Council members asked about recurring fees and data ownership. Cook said the vendor’s first-year estimate covers the setup and that the town will own a copy of its data should it choose to switch vendors in the future: “if we decide to leave them 3 or 4 years down the road, we own all our data. So our data stays with us,” he said.
Cook said staff evaluated about a dozen vendors before narrowing the selection and that the chosen vendor scored best for usability and staff support. Council members also noted that some additional small fees could arise for optional utility-side forms.
Formal action: A council member moved and a second was recorded; the council approved the purchase by voice vote with no recorded roll-call tally.
Next steps: Staff said, if the vendor begins work promptly, implementation and training could be completed in about eight weeks. The council did not set a separate follow-up vote; staff will proceed with contract execution under the approved terms.