Finance committee recommends up to $21,000 annual cap for Office 365 subscriptions

The Skagway Municipality finance committee voted to recommend a FY25 budget amendment to fund subscription-based Microsoft Office for municipal computers, adding an amendment that the annual cost not exceed $21,000.

Treasurer Heather Rodig introduced the request, saying the town is “moving to a subscription base for our office products rather than an install for each computer that we purchase,” and that the figure presented represents the maximum annual cost if all users were on subscriptions. Rodig said staff are still completing a department-by-department rollout and therefore could not yet provide a precise headcount of users currently on subscriptions.

Members asked whether the amendment needed to be bundled with other recent budget amendments. Assembly member Waddell said it would be “more cohesive to have them all at 1 time,” but Rodig and staff said they often keep large tabled amendments separate to avoid burying details. Committee member Deb moved the recommendation; it was seconded and amended on the floor to include a $21,000 annual cap. The committee then voted in favor of forwarding the amendment to the assembly.

The recommendation instructs the assembly to approve an amendment amending the FY25 budget to provide for Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions based on current user numbers, with a funding cap not to exceed $21,000 annually. The committee recorded the motion, second, an amendment to set the maximum, and a unanimous affirmative voice vote in committee.

Next steps: the committee’s recommendation will be transmitted to the full assembly for consideration as part of the FY25 budget process.