Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
City updates ERP replacement: Workday configuration complete, full go‑live pushed to mid‑2026; budget 'within 1%' of original estimate
Loading...
Summary
City IT officials told the Finance and Personnel Committee that the Workday ERP implementation has completed configuration and is scheduled for a combined HR, payroll and finance go‑live in June 2026, after a timeline extension to ease staff strain.
City information-technology and budget officials updated the Finance and Personnel Committee on the enterprise resource planning (ERP) replacement project intended to modernize payroll, human resources, budgeting and finance systems.
David Henke, chief information officer for the Department of Administration’s Information and Technology Management Division, said the city selected Workday as the software platform and Accenture as the implementation partner. He said the project is through the configuration phase and remains on an updated schedule that delays a full cutover to mid-2026 to reduce staff strain and allow more thorough testing.
On cost and schedule: Henke said the project has roughly $18 million allocated, with just over $10 million expended to date and about $6 million remaining for 2025 and early 2026 work. “If you look at the bottom lines, for our total estimate of completion, and our original estimate, we’re within, like, 1%, just below 1% of where we anticipated being,” he told the committee.
Why the change: Henke said the original plan — to go live on parts of the system earlier — put excessive pressure on staff who must keep core city operations running while participating in the conversion. He said the revised timeline groups HR, finance, payroll and time reporting into a single production go-live planned for June 2026 to allow expanded end‑to‑end testing and stronger change management.
Officials highlighted benefits such as one sign-on for multiple services, improved mobile time and approval workflows, integrated budget and grant management modules, and fewer costly customizations. Henke said Workday’s fixed‑price contract and lower long‑term operating costs mean the city expects lower annual software costs after an initial period.
Staffing and risk: Henke acknowledged team strain and frequent meetings required to finish configuration and clean data for testing. He said management has used wage supplements and schedule adjustments and continues to monitor staff workload. Committee members asked about potential burnout and the impact of broader city remote-work policy changes; Henke said the project team is tracking those effects and will continue to adjust timeline and staffing approaches.
Ending: The committee held the file to the call of the chair for future updates; members said they expect additional status reports during the 2026 budget process.
