BERLIN– Looking to update its outdated financial system, the town approved a Government Finance Officers Association development and vendor selection proposal during a Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, July 14.
Berlin’s financial system tracks town expenses and generates billing for utilities based on meter readings.
“The current system requires a lot of manual entry for processes that should be automated,” said Town Administrator Laura Allen. “We get requests from owners of multiple properties to produce a bill which pulls all of their properties together in a couple of pieces of paper. The current system can’t do it.”
The system also fails when it comes to generating specific customer reports.
“The system cannot produce reports with prior period information,” Allen said. “At the end of each month (we can’t) produce reports and save them in a PDF file in case a customer wants a copy of his or her bill.”
A consultant service, GFOA represents nearly 18,000 public finance officials in the U.S. and Canada. The company’s mission is to “enhance and promote the professional management of governmental financial resources by identifying, developing and advancing fiscal strategies, policies and practices for the public benefit,” according to their website.
“GFOA has a lot of experience selecting software systems for other cities,” Allen said. “The town does not have that expertise. Hiring GFOA will ensure we have a process that gets us the best vendor at the best price.”
Electric, water and sewer departments and the general fund will split the $16,800 price tag of finding a new system. GFOA will submit proposals on behalf of Berlin, then review, rank and score each proposal. GFOA will then manage a demonstration of top proposals. The company also assists with contract negotiations.
Allen said GFOA is generally able to negotiate enough savings to offset the cost of their services.
“Typically they don’t work with cities of this size,” she said. “It’s generally larger cities, and they’ve given us a little bit of a break because they recognize as a small community we have financial challenges. But they are willing to come in at that price and take those steps.”
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams praised the proposal during the meeting.
“Every year there are two or three things that I would call extremely important to (our) long-term health, and this is definitely one of them for this fiscal year,” he said.
“Getting this right will put us in a much better position to have information that’s going to allow us to do a better job,” said councilmember Dean Burrell. “If we have information and it’s good information and we can get it when we need it, that will help make better decisions.”
Burrell said the current system puts the town in a “very compromising position.”
“I was here when we bought that other (system),” he said. “I just want us to get it right this time, and I think this is going in the right direction.”
The town budgeted $120,000 for a new system when they approved the fiscal year 2015 budget. Projections show the new system coming online by the beginning of the next fiscal year.
“The current system limits our ability to respond to customer needs and take advantage of changes in technology,” Allen said. “We’re looking for a software vendor as innovative as we are.”
Berlin’s financial system tracks town expenses and generates billing for utilities based on meter readings.
“The current system requires a lot of manual entry for processes that should be automated,” said Town Administrator Laura Allen. “We get requests from owners of multiple properties to produce a bill which pulls all of their properties together in a couple of pieces of paper. The current system can’t do it.”
The system also fails when it comes to generating specific customer reports.
“The system cannot produce reports with prior period information,” Allen said. “At the end of each month (we can’t) produce reports and save them in a PDF file in case a customer wants a copy of his or her bill.”
A consultant service, GFOA represents nearly 18,000 public finance officials in the U.S. and Canada. The company’s mission is to “enhance and promote the professional management of governmental financial resources by identifying, developing and advancing fiscal strategies, policies and practices for the public benefit,” according to their website.
“GFOA has a lot of experience selecting software systems for other cities,” Allen said. “The town does not have that expertise. Hiring GFOA will ensure we have a process that gets us the best vendor at the best price.”
Electric, water and sewer departments and the general fund will split the $16,800 price tag of finding a new system. GFOA will submit proposals on behalf of Berlin, then review, rank and score each proposal. GFOA will then manage a demonstration of top proposals. The company also assists with contract negotiations.
Allen said GFOA is generally able to negotiate enough savings to offset the cost of their services.
“Typically they don’t work with cities of this size,” she said. “It’s generally larger cities, and they’ve given us a little bit of a break because they recognize as a small community we have financial challenges. But they are willing to come in at that price and take those steps.”
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams praised the proposal during the meeting.
“Every year there are two or three things that I would call extremely important to (our) long-term health, and this is definitely one of them for this fiscal year,” he said.
“Getting this right will put us in a much better position to have information that’s going to allow us to do a better job,” said councilmember Dean Burrell. “If we have information and it’s good information and we can get it when we need it, that will help make better decisions.”
Burrell said the current system puts the town in a “very compromising position.”
“I was here when we bought that other (system),” he said. “I just want us to get it right this time, and I think this is going in the right direction.”
The town budgeted $120,000 for a new system when they approved the fiscal year 2015 budget. Projections show the new system coming online by the beginning of the next fiscal year.
“The current system limits our ability to respond to customer needs and take advantage of changes in technology,” Allen said. “We’re looking for a software vendor as innovative as we are.”