Exh 8CAGENDA ITEM #8C
FEBRUARY 14, 2005
STAFF REPORT
City of Atlantic Beach
Commission Meeting
AGENDA ITEM: Consulting Services for IT
DATE: January 10, 2005
SUBMITTED BY: David E. Thompson, Chief ofPolice/DPS
BACKGROUND:
One of the goals for the 2004-OS fiscal year was to evaluate and seek long term direction
relative to the City's AS400 and HTE Systems.
The AS400 is an IBM computer that runs the HTE software. The HTE software contains
programs that are the most critical operations to the business functions for the City of
Atlantic Beach. These functions include:
` 1. All purchasing, accounts payable, and account receivable functions for all city
departments;
2. Payroll and Personnel for all City employees;
' 3. Water, sewer, and garbage records, billing and processing for citizens and
non-citizens served by City utilities;
4. Building permits;
' ~ 5. All general budget management and preparation for departments throughout
the City:
6. Occupational Licenses;
7. Fixed asset tracking;
8. Utility Service Work Orders; and
9. Retirement investment accounts and payments.
The existing AS400 computer is not capable of running the updates necessary for the new
operating systems or the HTE software upgrades. This means that the City of Atlantic
Beach needs to either purchase a new AS400 and update the operating systems and
- software, or the city needs to seek an alternative computer and software system to convert
the existing data and handle the functions of the AS400 and HTE systems. This decision
will have major ramifications for the City of Atlantic Beach, and the costs will be
significant one way or the other.
Due to the widespread use of the AS400/HTE systems, this decision has been addressed
by a number of governmental entities around the state. This means that there are IT
consultants who have performed similar evaluations for other governments, and they
have experience in this field. Although there is a temptation to simply review one of the
evaluations that had been performed for another city, and apply the evaluation to the City
of Atlantic Beach, this is not recommended.
AGENDA ITEM #8C
FEBRUARY 14, 2005
Most government operations are unique, and the City of Atlantic Beach is no exception.
As a result, it would not be a wise decision to simply conclude that if city "X" made a
particular decision, then the City of Atlantic Beach should make the same decision. The
decision to follow one direction or the other may have a financial impact exceeding
$300,000 over the next several years. We believe that the use of outside, professional,
experienced consulting services would be well invested for the future development of the
• IT systems.
There are Information Technology companies who provide evaluation and long term
planning services for governmental entities. Specifically, the Florida League of Cities
(FLC) has IT Staff members who have performed these evaluation services for other
municipalities in the past. They are very competent and experienced in performing this
• particular type of evaluation, and they have provided a proposal to evaluate the A5400
and HTE issue for $6,100. The FLC is willing to provide a comprehensive evaluation
and long term guidance for the overall City of Atlantic Beach Information Technology
systems (including the AS400IHTE System) for a total of $9,600.
I believe that the City of Atlantic Beach would benefit from the overall evaluation of the
IT systems, including the AS400/HTE systems. An outside review and evaluation has
the potential to identify and confirm that the right things are being done, and it has the
potential to identify and correct problems while providing future direction for the
• program. For the additional $3,500 difference in the costs identified above, I am
.. recommending that approval of $9,600 for this project.
Funding far this evaluation was not included in the 2004-OS budget. It was originally
anticipated that the existing IT staff members in Atlantic Beach would perform this
evaluation. A$er reviewing the anticipated expenses of the AS400/HTE systems over the
next few years, and after identifying consultants who have performed this work in the
past, I am seeking City of Atlantic Beach Commission approval for funding for this
project during the mid-year budget adjustments.
City IT staff members do not have experience in conducting such an evaluation, and it
would be a costly venture for them to gain the training, knowledge, and time necessary to
perform the work. Additionally, a fresh look from an outside consultant can produce
many benefits for the City.
BUDGET: If approved, this would require the City Commission to approve $9,600 in
the mid-year budget adjustments.
RECOMMENDATIONS: I recommend that the City Commission approve $9,600 in
the mid-year budget adjustments for consulting services discussed in this staffreport.
ATTACHMENTS:
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER: