Jamestown City Council will review a request to purchase new accounting software to replace the city’s antiquated system.
The resolution would purchase Springbrook Software using $63,986.50 of American Rescue Plan funds to replace the KVS accounting system that’s been in use by the city since the early 2000s. The annual cost for the new software is $42,300.
Council held off on approving the purchase of this same software in October 2022 after learning it hadn’t been reviewed by the city’s IT department. Council member Marie Carrubba also requested that council be provided a reference list of other municipalities who use the software in New York State.
The resolution for the purchase at that time requested $91,683 in American Rescue Plan with annual maintenance costs being listed as $19,405. According to Council member at Large Kim Ecklund‘s comments at the meeting, the current KVS system’s annual maintenance costs are in the $17,000 range.
The staff report for the current resolution said the software was chosen after a Request-for-Proposal (RFP) process, adding that the Comptroller, City Clerk, and IT department performed various demonstrations to confirm functionality. The software has new features, including online portals for each employee to see payroll and tax data.
Council will resume discussions on the resolution to hire eight firefighters. Council members have been requesting additional information on the financial impact of the hirings, including how the administration proposes continuing to fund the positions once the three-year SAFER grant from the federal government runs out.
City officials have said that the purchase of a second ambulance will help bring in revenue that will help bridge that gap. Council members also requested a cost versus revenue comparison for the current ambulance owned by the city in addition to estimates on the amount of revenue that might be brought in by the second ambulance. A resolution to use $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to purchase that second ambulance appeared on Council’s agenda on April 10.
The operation of that vehicle depends on the additional hiring of firefighters.
Discussions on hiring an ombudsman will continue tonight, presuming the administration provides council with the salary schedule and cost-out requested by the City Council Finance Committee.
The position would replace the Associate Corporation Counsel position that’s now vacant in the Corporation Counsel’s office.
The City Council work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. There are no committee meetings due to lack of agenda items. The public is welcome to attend with the meeting being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.
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