Barrie: City may spend $10M on software to save big money down the road

Mayor Jeff thinks our City is "in the dark ages". Here's what happened at City Council the other night...

The city could spend millions to save both money and improve its core information systems.

Barrie councillors gave initial approval Monday to the business case for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and its systems.

The estimate to buy the software, design it and install it is approximately $10 million, and it will take three years to fully implement. Plus it will cost $320,000 annually to operate, starting in 2015.

Benefits are estimated at $15.5 million for the city during the next decade, including expected cost reductions worth $12.5 million for goods and services purchases. 

ERP is software to replace many stand-alone systems and manual work processes, and integrates these functions into an automated system based on a centralized database accessible across the corporation.

"The city's core information systems no longer meet its needs, and to properly manage an organization with more than $3 billion in assets under its control, annual spending in the $300-million range, and significant growth costs on the horizon, an ERP is necessary," said Ed Archer, Barrie's general manager of corporate services.

"We're in the dark ages. We are still operating like a small town," said Mayor Jeff Lehman. "This one's a no-brainer for me."

City CAO Carla Ladd said it was like comparing a bank with lineups and deposit slips to one with debit cards and ATMs.

"It isn't if we do this system, it's when we do this system," she said of the ERP. "There are so many benefits."

Ladd mentioned ERP would virtually eliminate paperwork and could cut service delivery by two-thirds.

Only Coun. Bonnie Ainsworth spoke and voted against ERP, saying she didn't want to approve the spending until she sees the 2013 capital budget, which is debated in January.

She said the city might have other priorities.

"We have a crumbling infrastructure in this city," Ainsworth said. "There are 33 kilometres of roads that need to be constructed.

"I don't feel the decision should be made in isolation of the impact on the business plan and long-range plans." 

But the other councillors wanted to go ahead

"I don't see any downside," Coun. Barry Ward said. "Just because there is something you can't touch or you can't see or drive on, that doesn't mean it isn't a valuable investment."

"The timing dictates that we move forward, especially with the annexed (former Innisfil) lands," said Coun. John Brassard, of the south-Barrie property that will be developed during the next decades.

Currently, Barrie's financial system consists of separate, non-integrated systems requiring expensive and inefficient manual steps to complete transactions. City staff says it does not not meet the business needs of Barrie residents, customers or employees.

These information systems are fragmented, incomplete and don't provide timely information. This means service levels are lower and less efficient than they could be, because work processes and information systems are incapable of meeting demands placed upon them.

These inefficiencies are not readily apparent now because city staff make the extra effort to address information needs, but that can't last.

Archer says ERP will eventually fix these inefficiencies.

"This will increase the assurance that decisions about residents' tax dollars are based on the best available information in a timely way," he said. "And staff will have better information for program management and oversight. The risk of cost overruns on projects or inadequate service levels because plans did not accurately predict how things would actually work will be much lower." 

The city budgeted $450,000 for a business case study about how ERP would support specific corporate information needs, processes and service capacity.

Archer said less than half that amount was spent on the report presented Monday by Deloitte & Touche LLP, a London firm.

ERP funding is included in the city's capital budget.

Council will consider final approval of a motion to move ahead with this plan at its Dec. 17 meeting.

Barrie Residents attack south-end plan

Barrie Examiner

South-Barrie residents voiced their disapproval Monday to townhouses and eight-plexes in their single-family neighbourhood.

During a public meeting that took nearly two hours, about 30 people spoke against the proposed development at 461 Mapleton Ave.

The 101 residential units would add traffic and crime, cut safety for children and hurt property values in the area - city councillors heard.

"We need to put the safety of our children first, absolutely first," said Marlene Kane. "I'm all for growth, but let's grow safe and let's grow smart."

Her daughter, Nicole Kane, said she's a former St. Joan of Arc student and the traffic in this area is already bad.

"I can attest to how difficult it is to cross Mapleton," she said. "It isn't just (unsafe) for children, but for teenagers crossing the street."

Larry Black, who lives at the top of Mapleton, also said the street is dangerous now.

"Cars come up that hill very fast," he said. "That hill is already a risky one and you (the developer) are just going to add to it."

Many speakers said they moved to this area because it is a single-family neighbourhood, and don't want townhouses there because it could mean renters and absent landlords.

"Reconsider this plan and develop it into something that everyone in the area would find desirable," said Jennifer and Alastair McMurachy in a letter to the city, "such as additional single-detached homes, a library, commercial space or an additional soccer/rugby field.

"The building of eight-plexes is not what the safe and quiet area needs right now."

Residents also said there wouldn't be enough parking in this development and that congestion would only get worse in the area.

This five-acre property - located on the south side of Ardagh Road, west of Mapleton - is a former school site no longer needed by the Simcoe County District School Board for that use. The developer is a numbered Ontario company.

Its rezoning and Official Plan application will now be considered by the city's planning department, which will prepare a staff report. It's expected to be dealt with by Barrie councillors later this winter or in early spring.

Coun. Michael Prowse, who represents this part of Barrie, does not want the property to be medium or high-density residential.

But Coun. Alex Nuttall said townhouses do not necessarily mean more crime and renters who are bad neighbours, as some of the speakers Monday expressed.

"Be careful with your broad strokes about townhouses," he said.

City councils in Barrie have long dealt with the frustration of residents in new developments with planned school sites. They expect their children to be able to walk to school, then an education board decides the school is not needed.

The children are bussed to class instead, and more residential units are built on the former school site – adding additional people and vehicles to the area, especially if it's intensified development.

City staff didn't recommended park use of this land. Its estimated purchase price of $1.5-$2 million would have virtually emptied the parkland reserve fund of $2.1 million at the time. A sports fields, landscaping, parking and other infrastructure costs could add another $1 million to the price tag.

Staff looking at building soccer and/or baseball fields there note soccer participants has dropped by 800 since 2010, and the city doesn't need any new ball fields until after 2019.