Continuing a process than began nearly 18 months ago, Oneonta’s Finance and Human Resources Committee heard from city staff and representatives of a public sector software firm about options for consolidating software used by city departments into one program.
Chris Rogers and Latrese Loftin from Tyler Technologies, a nationwide company with an office in Latham, presented information via Zoom about their products and services for public sector software, Thursday, Jan. 16.
City staff has been reviewing the various modules offered by Tyler, including financial and personnel management, utility billing and tax administration. The modules integrate with each other, allowing easier and more efficient communication between departments.
Loftin’s demonstration included customizable dashboards for different roles, such as finance directors and HR managers, the ability to access real-time budget information and trending data and electronic workflow and approval processes within the software.
There’s also an app that residents would be able to use to interact with various city services, with features including a bus tracker and bill, permit and license payment. Residents could also see information on the city budget, meeting agendas, minutes and videos, and city project updates, as well as make non-emergency reports.
City Finance Director of Virginia Lee first presented information on Tyler to the Common Council in August 2023.
“The reason we haven’t moved forward sooner is because HR was short-staffed and finance was short-staffed,” Lee said Thursday. “Those are the two departments that we need to get payroll and HR up and running, and we just didn’t have enough people. Now that (County Treasurer Allen Ruffles) is here part time, it gives me hope that we will have more assistance.”
The one-time setup cost would be $207,000 — more if the city clerk and code enforcement offices also want to integrate — with annual fees of $142,000 to $143,000.
Lee said the cost difference between the various programs used now and the Tyler system would be a $30,000 to $40,000 increase.
The system could take a year to 18 months to become functional. When Otsego County partnered with Tyler, it took five years to be come functional.
Ruffles said Thursday that it took a while for the software developers to learn about things like New York state tax laws to be able to build a functional system for the county.
Ruffles added that the county’s annual fees to Tyler were quoted at $329,000 annually, but the county hasn’t paid more than $260,000 because of reimbursed funds for slowdowns in the implementation process.
Despite the slow implementation, Ruffles said that it’s “the best thing we ever did,” citing less paperwork, no more printed checks, fraud is down.
“I would plan it differently,” he said, with the recommendation of a dedicated person for implementing the software so Lee wouldn’t be take out of her day-to-day tasks.
Cecelia Walsh-Russo, D-Second Ward, asked about a timeframe for the council to have discussions and make a decision.
Lee said she hopes it would take only four or five conversations if there are more demonstrations.
City Administrator Greg Mattice said that the timeframe depends on council feedback.
“I would think it wouldn’t take more than two or three conversations,” he said, “to really make sure the council understands what we’re getting into, and if there’s questions about this module or that module we can talk about that. And then it comes down to the financial position.”