Berkeley council approves vendor training to modernize finance processes

BERKELEY, Mich. — The Berkeley City Council on Aug. 4 approved motion M64-25 to hire a vendor for on-site training and process improvements of the city’s finance systems, aiming to reduce manual workflows in the building department, accounts payable and equipment rental time tracking.

The council approved the measure after a presentation from Deputy Finance Director Amy Zierowski, who described the city’s recently reconstituted finance team and the three priority modules staff wants to address with vendor training. "We have a very new finance staff," Zierowski said, and the training would allow staff to "utilize the system to its fullest" and reduce repetitive manual work.

Council members said the initiative matters because it would cut error risk and return employee time to resident-facing work. Mayor Pro Tem Gavin made the motion to approve the proposal; the motion was supported by Council member Vilani and passed on roll call.

Zierowski said staff identified three priority areas: better integration and reporting for the building department; moving invoice data entry into individual departments so approvals route through the system instead of central manual entry; and automating equipment-rental time capture used by Public Works and Parks & Recreation so the DPW clerk and finance staff no longer reconcile separate daily manual sheets. "When you have manual intervention in anything, there's room for errors," Zierowski told the council.

Staff said the vendor identified in the agenda item was listed as "VSNA," while department staff referred to the vendor as "BSNA" during the presentation; the city will work with the vendor named in the approved proposal. Zierowski described an earlier proposal estimate of about $15,000 and said the final proposed cost is now "a little over $13,000," with part of the work (payroll/equipment-rental module) proposed to be delivered remotely, reducing travel costs.

Council members asked about phasing and future training. Council member Patterson proposed piloting the new process in one department before a citywide rollout to work out issues. Zierowski said staff are documenting procedures and intend to train future hires internally once the initial vendor training and documentation are complete. Council member Hennen asked staff to capture improved reporting metrics as part of the project so the council can more easily obtain monthly and annual infographics.

Discussion (options and concerns): council members and staff discussed error risk from manual processes, the value of cross-department training, and the need to document procedures for future staff.

Direction and next steps: staff said training is planned for the week of Jan. 5 and the week of Jan. 12, with one module delivered remotely; staff will schedule the sessions and implement the workflow changes after the vendor engagement.

Formal action: motion M64-25 (approve vendor training and system enhancements) was made by Mayor Pro Tem Gavin, supported by Council member Vilani, and passed. The council did not amend the motion; implementation details and scheduling were described by staff during the meeting.

Why it matters: Council members said the project aims to reduce time spent on manual data entry, lower the chance of classification and invoice errors, and give finance staff more time for oversight and resident services.

What the council did not decide: The council approved the training engagement and budget estimate; it did not adopt new ordinances, change staffing levels, or approve long-term contracting terms at this meeting.