The Board of Aldermen met for a regular session on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Board discussed a renewal agreement for an existing agreement with Civic Plus LLC for recreational management software for the city. The city reported a 21 percent increase in price from the last contract.
Some board members were concerned with this sudden change in price, as the city had not taken bids from other companies to see if there were better alternatives. Alderman Alexis Neal believes that the price of changing this software and all city functions involved with it would be much more costly than this increase on the new renewal agreement.
Neal says that with rising concerns surrounding more sophisticated cyber attacks, these softwares will only continue to get more expensive to combat these attacks. As this software handles credit card transactions, safety and privacy is a high priority. Votes split, with three voting not to approve the renewal, and four voting to renew, the Board originally approved the renewal.
However, Counselor Kyle Martin had to correct the vote later in the meeting, stating that the statutes required an ordinance to be passed by the majority of the elected board, not the quorum.
With discussion renewed, Todd Schrader shared his thoughts on the matter. “I would like to find a way to keep it,” said Schrader. “The company is meeting our needs, we are running so much more efficiently with this company. This platform aligns with what we are doing in the city in a lot of other areas.”
Alderman Dusty Ross did not want to make a quick decision on the matter, stating that oftentimes these matters are brought to the Board without due preparation. He believes that the Board should not have to make decisions on timely matters at the last minute.
Schrader asked them to reconsider voting down the renewal solely because they had not brought them information in time, as the software was necessary and effective for his employees.
Thomas Relford reiterated that timeliness was important for this issue, as it affects day-to-day operations for his employees. However, they will have to revisit the contract to see if it had auto-renewed, as the contract had already expired on Aug. 28, and the board was unaware if it was still in effect.
The Board ultimately voted to table this issue, as there was not enough information available at this time.
Other issues during the Board meeting followed a similar theme, with many being brought to the Board without enough information ahead of time to make an informed decision.
The Board voted to table another discussion regarding Rave Alert, an automatic notification system for severe weather conditions. 1300 citizens use this system already. The Board will discuss later whether to continue this system or look into other options.
The next Board work session will have clear information for the Board regarding the issues they discuss. The goal is to give the Board ample time and information to make informed decisions and give affected staff time to make adjustments.
