Select Board approves $18,400 to buy Avatar town-clerk software, funds from capital reserve

The Brentwood Select Board voted to approve $18,400 to purchase the Avatar town-clerk software module and related website and online payment integrations and authorized Andrea to sign the contracts. The board directed that funds come from the Municipal Operations Software capital reserve account.

Andrea presented three items from Avatar for the town-clerk module: a purchase and installation fee of $15,400 (including a $500 boat module), a website deployment/hosting (kiosk) setup fee of $1,500, and an InvoiceCloud online payment integration for $1,500 plus a monthly fee. The board discussed recurring and one-time costs; Andrea said the annual support was $1,500 and InvoiceCloud carries a $100-per-month fee.

Andrea said the capital reserve fund balance was $120,716 as of Dec. 31. The board discussed sequencing: the clerk module will be converted first, with assessing and building-permit modules later and a separate migration for accounting/payroll expected to use MTS. Andrea and others estimated the full Avatar conversion (multiple modules) could be about $55,000–$60,000; KRT reval conversion would add roughly $10,000 if done at the same time.

A member asked whether the board would still have funds to move to other modules; Andrea said the capital reserve would cover the clerk purchase and leave funds for later steps. A motion to approve the $18,400 purchase and to allow Andrea to sign the contracts passed on a voice vote.

Why it matters: The town clerk’s office handles motor vehicle registration, dog licenses and other public-facing functions; the board said moving from legacy DOS-era software to Avatar should reduce manual workloads and bottlenecks.

What’s next: Avatar will begin conversion for the town clerk module; the board will consider further Avatar and MTS conversions for assessing, building permits and accounting.