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Committee backs 3‑year OnBase contract as amendment for automatic renewals fails; budget workshops press departments for funding detail
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Summary
The finance committee gave favorable recommendations to a three‑year OnBase enterprise content management agreement and to a slate of departmental budgets; an amendment to add a 3‑year renewal failed and members sought clearer cost breakdowns and assurances about data access, audit logs and long‑term funding for family relocations and program positions.
The finance committee held its second public hearing on two multiyear contracts and then conducted a wide‑ranging set of departmental budget workshops.
OnBase contract: The committee heard a presentation on LM2026‑0097 proposing a multiyear agreement with Hyland (OnBase) and ISW for implementation, expansion and cloud hosting of the city’s enterprise content management platform. Presenters described a phased digitization effort that began with vital statistics in 2020, emphasized OCR and redaction features, and said the system will help the city meet Connecticut State Library retention requirements. The proposal presented a three‑year implementation term with an initial implementation cost described in the fiscal impact notes and an annual subscription subject to a 4% escalation clause.
Alderman Morrison moved to add a 3‑year renewal to the contract; the amendment was debated and failed on a voice vote. The committee then moved and recommended the three‑year agreement favorably. Members requested that staff provide the committee with a clearer breakdown of where the implementation and subscription costs will be charged (general fund, capital, bond funds and any special accounts) and sought confirmation that the system’s access controls and audit trails will protect sensitive records such as police files.
Budget workshops and program positions: After the contract items the committee took budget presentations from multiple departments. Highlights included:
- Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement: presenters showed robust permit revenue (year‑to‑date ~$21.17M) and described staffing and enforcement activity. Members asked about revenue projections and fee schedule changes.
- Economic Development, Housing and Cultural Affairs: staff described a large grants pipeline (>$100M in discretionary grants), housing production (about 1,800 units under construction, ~3,000 expected by 2027), and said three ARPA‑funded program manager positions and one process‑improvement position are proposed to move to the general fund. Members requested position justification forms and case studies explaining how the roles pay for themselves or reduce outsourced contract costs.
- Transportation, Traffic & Parking: department requested one new general‑fund traffic safety enforcement officer (statutorily required to adjudicate camera citations) and projected material revenue from automated enforcement (school bus arm program and red‑light/speed cameras). Members asked about fleet constraints and patrol coverage; department said vendor selection is complete and estimated a 17–18 week roll‑out to approved camera sites.
- Livable Cities Initiative (LCI): the department reported progress on residential licensing compliance (up to ~70%); anti‑blight enforcement and housing relocations remain active. Members pressed about family‑relocation accommodations, noting current hotels used for relocations are often low quality; LCI said it will provide a cost comparison showing what higher‑quality placements would require. LCI also signaled potential enforcement and foreclosure activity on chronically noncompliant properties.
What happens next: Staff were asked to return with clearer budget allocations for the OnBase contract, detailed position justifications for proposed general‑fund conversions of ARPA roles, and cost comparisons for family relocation housing options. Both contracts will move forward to the full board with favorable committee recommendations.
