Committee approves transfers to keep BankW Staffing consultants on Munis upgrade work

The Holyoke City Finance Committee voted March 11 to transfer leftover salary savings into professional services to continue implementation work with consultants (BankW Staffing) assisting the city’s Munis/ERP upgrade.

Officials told the committee they discovered significant data, workflow and permission gaps during the upgrade that require specialized consultant time to fix correctly and build repeatable documentation. Rory (implementation staff) described the consultants as collectively having decades of Tyler/Munis experience and argued that continuing their engagement will reduce future vendor costs and accelerate internal staff effectiveness.

Personnel Director Kelly Carter said personnel and payroll workflow improvements are already reducing staff time and that documentation and training are priorities to avoid repeated consultant reliance. Jamie (procurement) said the purchasing office needs additional support to complete the Munis configuration and onboarding documentation.

The committee approved three separate transfers: item 3, $11,235 from a vacant personnel line to professional services (BankW Staffing); item 10, $25,000 from an assistant procurement officer line to professional services; and item 12, $20,000 from administrative and payroll specialist lines to professional services. Committee members asked that the departments produce documentation and training materials so future staff can maintain the systems without prolonged consultant support.

All three transfers were approved in committee by voice vote; staff said the funds will be used to complete specific modules and to prepare trainer documentation so the city can rely less on outside contractors going forward.