Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal It topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board approves $45,943 package to replace assessing, building and tax software
Summary
The Select Board voted unanimously to purchase a consolidated software suite (assessing, building permits and tax modules) from Avatar for up to $45,943 and to fund the one-time purchase from the capital-reserve fund, with annual support costs to follow in the operating budget.
The Brentwood Select Board approved a motion to buy a new municipal software suite from Avatar that will replace multiple legacy systems for assessing, building permits and tax administration. The board voted in favor of up to $45,943 in one-time costs to implement the modules and conversions.
Town staff explained the package includes assessing conversion ($16,400), building permit setup ($7,250) and tax-system conversion and setup (conversion component noted as $12,900 and associated one-time fees), plus annual software-support fees for various modules (examples cited: $2,302 for an assessing public interface, $1,579 for annual building support, $50/month for online invoice payments and $500 annual fees tied to electronic notifications). Staff proposed funding the one-time implementation from the capital-reserve fund and rolling recurring annual costs into future operating budgets to replace current annual software payments.
The board discussed timing and implementation: staff and the assessing clerk said the conversion is best done now, even though a revaluation (reval) is planned, because the integration will streamline permit-assessing linkage and modernize public interfaces. The administrator noted MTS (payroll/AP) remains separate and will be addressed later; staff will request separate quotes for payroll/AP migration.
Motion and vote: A board member moved and another seconded to approve up to $45,943 for the Avatar implementation package. The motion passed on a unanimous recorded voice vote.
Ending: Staff will proceed with contracting and conversion steps and will return budget-line recommendations for annual support costs in the next operating budget cycle.
