Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the It Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Auburn IT staff brief council on budget, pushes to replace AS/400 tax software and fills vacancy
Summary
City IT oversight and supervisor Jesse Trujovich outlined the IT operating budget and an effort to move off AS/400 (Power9 IBM) systems, citing an RFP for tax-billing software, ongoing cybersecurity work and a vacant technical support specialist role under review.
Ms. Leeson, who oversees the city's IT function, and IT supervisor Jesse Trujovich presented the IT department's fiscal 2026 budget to the Auburn City Council on April 17, saying the department supports every city department and is prioritizing migration away from legacy AS/400 systems.
"Power 9 IBM, that is the AS 400. We really are pushing incredibly hard to transition out of that software," Ms. Leeson told the council, describing an RFP in development for tax-billing and noting discussions with the school district and county about shared procurement.
Why it matters: the AS/400 (IBM Power) systems host legacy city functions including tax billing and parking-ticket processing; replacing them will require implementation work and one-time costs but is necessary to reduce operational risk and modernize online services.
Trujovich and Leeson said the department fielded about 75 help-desk tickets per month and runs roughly 20 active projects across city systems. Budget changes include a one-time implementation charge to move parking-ticket processing off the AS/400 (an implementation estimate of about $26,000 was mentioned) and continued investment in cybersecurity, Windows 11 rollout, and support for capital projects such as wastewater treatment plant systems and landfill scale-house work.
Councilor Kent asked about a vacancy in the technical support specialist position; Leeson said the city is reviewing the job description and evaluating the best qualifications before hiring to ensure the role matches current needs.
The IT presentation did not ask the council to take an immediate policy vote; staff said more procurement steps and implementation planning will follow the RFP process.
Ending: IT leaders asked the council to maintain funding to complete the AS/400 migration and to support cybersecurity and ongoing capital-project IT needs.
