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Committee moves Next Request software into 2026 budget after $500,000 software review
Summary
Staff presented an inventory showing about $500,000 in annual software spending; the committee voted to add the Next Request software to the 2026 budget and defer performance-review software. The motion passed by voice vote.
City technology staff presented a citywide software inventory and recommended prioritizing select purchases after a two-week review.
Sean Strong, the city's technology director, said the city spends roughly $500,000 per year on software (about $215,000 at BPU and about $283,000 for other city operations). Staff said they do not currently have a single package that meets every need and highlighted workarounds such as spreadsheets and fillable PDFs. After discussion about budget pressures, committee members agreed to move forward with the "Next Request" software and include it in the 2026 budget while deferring consideration of performance-review software until a later date.
A motion to add the Next Request item to the 2026 budget carried by voice vote. Committee members asked staff to prioritize the Next Request purchase to address current data-request and records-workflow needs.
Why this matters: the decision directs limited budget resources toward software the city considers a priority for records and data-request management while postponing a separate performance-management purchase.
Next steps: staff will prepare budget language for the 2026 process and return with further cost and implementation details.
