Board approves $3.66 million, 10-year Infor cloud subscription after months of debate

The Board of Aldermen voted April 6 to approve a 10-year subscription agreement with Infor (Infor Cloud Suite) for $3,655,365 to migrate the city's financial and payroll systems to the cloud.

Supporters said the migration modernizes decades-old software and locks in negotiated pricing that the city said included nearly $950,000 in concessions from the vendor. Finance Director Mike Leblanc told the board the subscription would cover migration costs and a phased, roughly two-year implementation that includes parallel testing, training and upgrades to payroll and human resources modules.

Opponents and skeptical members pressed city staff and IT Director Dan Arapino about user training, departmental workflows and whether the city should survey departments before committing. "I'd really like to know what the problems are so I can fix it," Arapino said when asked to identify specific staff-reported issues. Alderman Kelly Feliciano Roman and others urged better documentation of reported difficulties and a department-by-department readiness check before approval.

City officials said many complaints reflected user training gaps rather than software faults and that existing Crystal Reports and interfaces would continue to be available. Leblanc said the city had negotiated rate concessions and that delaying final approval risked losing the price guarantee because Infor resets rates annually.

After a failed motion to table the purchase for 120 days, the board approved the contract by roll call: 13 in favor, 1 opposed (Alderwoman Zimmerman). The contract includes prorated costs for the current fiscal year and annual subscription fees that staff said would begin around $264,000 in year one and rise in later years as modules are added.

What happens next: City staff will begin implementation planning, schedule department-by-department on-boarding and report progress to the board as the migration proceeds.