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Finance proposes $2 million ERP implementation fund to replace legacy systems and reduce manual work
Summary
CFO Zach proposed creating a two‑year, $2 million 'ERP implementation fund' to implement a modern enterprise resource planning system, with ongoing licensing costs estimated at $300k–$400k per year. He said an ERP would remove manual interfaces between payroll, purchasing and accounting and improve financial transparency and reporting.
Chief Financial Officer Zach presented a proposal to create a dedicated ERP (enterprise resource planning) implementation fund to modernize the city’s financial and back‑office systems.
Zach said the city operates a number of systems that do not communicate — for example, a legacy purchasing database built in Microsoft Access that does not integrate with the accounting system, and manual payroll reconciliation steps after each pay period. He said those manual interfaces increase staff time and risks and limit the city’s ability to generate timely, integrated financial reports.
Zach proposed a two‑year, approximately $2,000,000 implementation fund to pay vendor fees, configuration and data‑migration work to deploy a modern ERP; he said the ongoing licensing and support costs would likely range from about $300,000 to $400,000 annually depending on the product and the modules selected. He asked council to consider appropriating one‑time implementation funds from general‑fund balances and proposed drafting an ordinance to create a transparent ERP implementation fund with a two‑year reversion provision for unused dollars.
CFO Zach said the process would include forming a steering committee co‑chaired by finance and IT and a vendor selection phase with demonstrations and in‑depth system‑fit evaluations. He said the first priority would be an integrated accounting system and then a phased rollout of modules such as budgeting, payroll interface, timekeeping, and procurement.
Councilors asked for additional detail and cautioned about implementation risk and vendor selection; Zach said IT would co‑lead vendor evaluations and that the city would seek product demos and implementation quotes before an appropriation. He said the fund would be used only for the ERP implementation and not commingled with department operating budgets.
