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City staff outline $18.1 million ERP modernization to replace 27-year-old system
Summary
Fort Collins staff told council they plan to replace the city's 27-year-old JD Edwards platform with a modern cloud ERP; staff estimated a conservative $18.1 million total cost (range $16–20M), proposed funding from reserves and partner contributions, and set an early-2027 procurement target with a 2028 go-live ambition.
City staff briefed the Fort Collins City Council on a planned enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernization to replace the city’s 27-year-old JD Edwards system.
Caleb (project lead) framed the project as critical to reduce operational fragility, citing more than 50 bolt-on systems and manual workarounds that together required roughly 30,600 hours annually—equivalent to about 15 full-time positions. "Every year that goes past that we don't address this project, that risk amount grows," Caleb told council.
Staff presented a conservative total project estimate of $18.1 million, with an expected range of $16 million to $20 million and a $3.1 million contingency. The $18.1 million figure includes some existing staff time allocated to the project; staff said roughly $12.9 million of that would represent additional appropriation needed above normal budgets. The proposed funding approach relies primarily on one-time reserves in the 2027–2028 budgets and contributions from partner agencies that use the system, such as Poudre Fire Authority and other city funds.
On recurring costs and savings, council members pressed staff for clarity on bolt-on license fees and subscription models. Caleb estimated annual bolt-on licensing at roughly $1.1 million; Finance staff Kevin offered a higher figure in discussion—about $2.4 million—highlighting uncertainty until core scope and modules are finalized. Staff warned that transitioning to a software-as-a-service model will add subscription costs that must be offset by retiring legacy maintenance and reducing manual work.
The project schedule calls for finalizing the solicitation in 2026, conducting vendor demonstrations and implementer interviews in the second half of 2026, awarding a contract in early 2027 and targeting a 2028 go-live with post-implementation work into 2029. Staff emphasized governance and change management, saying the city will treat the initiative as a transformation of business processes as well as technology.
Council members generally supported moving forward with careful procurement and requested ongoing updates as the budget and vendor selection process proceeds.
