Votes at a glance: Andover Council authorizes software renewal, approves IRB sale and parks equipment purchase

The Andover City Council on June 9 approved multiple routine but consequential items in a single meeting, including an annual software renewal for the police CAD/RMS system, a resolution terminating industrial revenue bond documents for a 2014 project, and a parks equipment purchase.

Central Square CAD/RMS renewal

Becky Day presented the annual renewal for the city’s Central Square computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and records management (RMS) system, which integrates dispatch and incident reporting and was purchased with grant funding in 2024. The council authorized payment of $94,851.88 for the annual subscription. City staff said the renewal cost will be split between the police department’s general operating budget and the statewide E911 tax fund; the meeting record identifies $60,746.90 as the E911 portion and indicates the remainder will come from the police operating budget. Becky Day said the system has improved reporting and provides a live, test and backup server configuration that mitigates outages.

Council member discussion focused on whether the department is using all system features; Day said some modules (for example, invoicing and bicycle registration) are still being rolled out. Chief Bob Buchanan said that without the E911 tax fund the city would have had to pay the entire cost from the police operating budget.

Industrial revenue bonds: Aveda cosmetology training center

City Attorney JT Claus described two series of industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) issued in 2014 to finance an Aveda cosmetology training center that have since been refinanced or retired; the owner requested to exercise an option to purchase and terminate related IRB documents. Claus said incentives and exemptions linked to those IRBs expired in 2024 and recommended the city accept documents that clean up its records. Council adopted a resolution authorizing execution of a special warranty deed, bill of sale, termination and release of lease, and satisfaction and discharge of indentures (motion carried 4-0).

Parks UTV purchase

Parks staff urged replacement of a 2011–2012 UTV that suffered catastrophic engine failure. Council authorized the purchase of the described utility vehicle in the amount of $27,565 to be funded from the park equipment reserve. Staff said the vehicles are used for snow removal, trail and sidewalk maintenance, event support and other park operations.

Votes and next steps

Each of the above motions carried on unanimous recorded voice votes (4-0). The IRB action is primarily a record-cleanup step related to financing documents from 2014; the software renewal and equipment purchase are funded from identified line items and reserves. The council did not identify additional public hearings for these routine approvals; operational follow-up will occur through departments’ normal procurement and implementation processes.