Finance staff outlines ERP progress, fee study, possible square-footage tax and revenue bond planning in council work plan review

City finance staff walked the Finance & Administration Committee through the city’s 2025 work plan, describing progress on an enterprise resource planning (ERP) rollout, financial reporting work, audits and other items that will affect budgeting and long-range revenue planning.

Staff said Phase 1 (financials) of the ERP implementation has two modules remaining—the capital/grant accounting module and the contract management module—with kickoff dates scheduled in July and expected work through October and November. Phase 2, the human capital management module, was completed earlier this year and is in the closeout phase. Phase 3—utility billing and revenue—is a projected year-long effort, and staff said they are currently cleaning and preparing existing billing data before moving to implementation.

Staff said the city is transitioning financial reporting from Springbrook to Munis; about half of the work remains to convert transactions and upload 2024 financial statements into Munis. Finance staff reported they expect to upload financial statements this month and are working through new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) guidance, including GASB 96 for subscription-based IT arrangements.

On grants and audit work, staff said the city is largely compliant with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) obligations and that the Department of the Treasury provided a notice urging recipients to obligate funds by the end of 2024; staff said Snoqualmie met that obligation. Staff noted a turnover at the state auditor’s office had delayed audit reassignment and that work on 2022 and 2023 audits is ongoing.

The committee discussed a range of potential revenue-policy items that staff said are under study: a comprehensive fee study (consultant interviews are underway and departments have provided data), a possible B&O tax audit (RFP responses received), and a proposed square-footage tax to capture revenue from large warehouse/logistics operations that produce little local B&O revenue. Staff characterized the square-footage tax as exploratory and said council could decide not to pursue it; council members raised implementation questions such as whether offsets for existing B&O payments or minimum thresholds would be appropriate.

Staff also outlined capital finance planning: the city currently holds a Department of Ecology loan for utility work and expects to begin planning for a revenue bond issuance toward the end of the year if needed. Staff described the work to prepare a bond issuance as lengthy—requiring council action on a bond ordinance and then several weeks of staff work to produce an official statement and supporting documentation for investors.

Additional items covered in the work-plan review included: modernization of network infrastructure and server redundancy; Wi-Fi and firewall upgrades and a completed security audit (IT will continue follow-up work); staffing and training updates including an HR ERP rollout; safety and FEMA training and planned tabletop and full-scale exercises; and municipal code and contract review under the newly established in-house city attorney. Staff said they will provide council with full draft fee-study materials and the cost lists before any final decisions.

The committee did not take formal votes on revenue-policy items. Staff were directed to continue ERP rollouts, complete data cleanup for utility billing, proceed with consultant interviews for the fee study and with the RFP process for a B&O audit, and return with more refined proposals or ordinances as necessary.