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Plant board explains switch from Utility Star to UniLink, cites security and support limits
Summary
Staff told council the old Utility Star software (in use since 2004) had limited vendor support and stored data on a local server; the board authorized moving to cloud-based UniLink for security and vendor support reasons.
Plant-board staff described why they recommended switching from Utility Star to UniLink. According to staff, Utility Star was purchased in 2004, had minimal remaining support and stored sensitive payment information on a local server, creating a security and support risk.
"Utility Star...was purchased back in 2004, and relatively no support is available on it...Utility Star actually only serves less than 10 utilities worldwide," the agency official said. Staff described UniLink as a cloud-based, secure software the utility now uses and said the board authorized the change on staff recommendation.
Staff said the migration required significant work because the utility bills for water, sewer, gas, stormwater and garbage. The board's authorization and the move to a vendor with built-in cybersecurity and cloud controls was described as intended to reduce data-liability risks.
No formal vote on the authorization was recorded in the meeting transcript; staff said the change had already been approved and the first bill from the new system went out June 30. Council members asked about timing and communications and were told the approval predated the current budget cycle.
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