Vero Beach moves ahead with ERP procurement and seeks project manager to guide implementation

City staff updated the council on plans to modernize the city’s financial and enterprise systems and to hire a project manager to guide implementation.

The city issued an RFP for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and received 11 vendor responses. Staff said the evaluation committee will rank and shortlist proposals in mid‑February and hopes to narrow to three or four vendors for February demonstrations and interviews, with a recommendation to the council targeted for the March 24 meeting.

Staff emphasized the initial rollout will prioritize core financial modules — general ledger, budgeting, purchasing, accounts payable and accounts receivable — and that optional modules such as utility billing will be evaluated for later phases. The city intends to acquire a software‑as‑a‑service (SaaS) solution and to require vendors to demonstrate experience with Florida municipal implementations.

To support a successful implementation, staff will also issue an RFP for a dedicated project manager; the goal is to have the project manager selection follow a similar review cycle, with a staff recommendation in mid‑April so work can begin during the current fiscal year. Council members asked about payroll integration and whether vendors could support payroll services; staff said payroll and payroll‑vendor options will be considered during vendor evaluation and that payroll modernization is on the project roadmap.

Staff said the city will form an implementation committee including finance and user representatives and will scope a modular rollout, with the intention of getting core modules operational before rolling out additional features such as payroll and utility billing. A council member asked staff to ensure vendors understand Florida reporting rules and to flag potential hidden costs during procurement evaluation.