Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
City IT director warns of mainframe risk, seeks external funding after finding low‑cost software path
Summary
Brian McKee, director and chief information officer, told the budget committee on March 11 that Honolulu's legacy mainframe support is fragile and that a deal to obtain software from Arizona could waive license fees but still require an estimated $10–12.5 million for data conversion and implementation; the $10 million ask did not make the city’s FY27 budget.
Brian McKee, director and chief information officer for the city's IT services, told the Committee on Budget on March 11 that Honolulu is operating on a legacy COBOL mainframe that is functionally brittle and costly to sustain. McKee said he found an agreement with Arizona to obtain a modern system license at no charge but estimated conversion and implementation costs at about $10–12.5 million over two years. "The software itself is for free," McKee said, adding the conversion would require substantial staff and funding.
Why it matters: City services — vehicle registration, licensing and other…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
