LTC 271-2003
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 21/ ,1[)&.3
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Mayor David Dermer and Date: November 20, 2003
Members of the City commi~~/
Jorge M. Gonzale~, A ^?1\
City Manager \,V ~ U
POSSIBLE AL RNATIVES FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CITY'S
FINANCIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SYSTEM.
To:
From:
Subject:
The computer system hardware (HP3000) upon which our existing finance system (FMSII)
operates is no longer supported by the manufacturer, necessitating a replacement of the
financial hardware and software system. Additionally, we have been notified that the
current payroll system from Cyborg will be discontinued at the end of the 2004 calendar
year, necessitating a move to another payroll system from Cyborg or another vendor.
In an effort to achieve the best alternative for replacing these systems, I am creating an
evaluation committee comprised of residents with experience with sophisticated
computerized financial systems, local professionals and City financial system users to
review alternatives and recommend the best alternative for the replacement of the City's
hardware and software systems. The members I have appointed are as follows:
Alex Mendez, CPA
Larry Herrup, CPA
Dede Weithorn, CPA
Georgina Echert
Kay Randall
Jim Sutter, CPA
Graciela Cespedes, CPA
Martha Dempsey
CFO
Resident
Resident
Finance Department
Information Technology
Internal Audit
Deputy Finance Director
Special Asst to the City Mgr
ANALYSIS
Mt. Sinai
Former BAC Chairperson
Current BAC Chairperson
City of Miami Beach
City of Miami Beach
City of Miami Beach
Miami-Dade County
City of Miami Beach
The FMSII system has been in use since the 1980's, This system provides the major
financial functions, which include general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable,
purchasing, budget, fixed assets and other general accounting functions. However, it
doesn't interface with the other financial systems in use and provides limited high level
financial management information, making it very difficult to use and extremely labor
intensive. Additionally, the system architecture does not lend itself to today's security
requirements or the need for business continuity in the event of a physical disaster,
The obsolescence of the hardware supporting the FMS system necessitates that it be
replaced within the next year, This replacement will also require a replacement, upgrade or
conversion of the current software system to a different version or platform. The Finance
and Information Technology Departments feel that these current systems are archaic and
unable of producing the comprehensive integrated information needed to manage the
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City's financial and administrative records efficiently. After reviewing the costs associated
with the required replacement of these systems, the Administration believes that this is the
appropriate time to consider alternatives for improving the City's financial systems,
Upon completion of this analysis, which should yield appropriate specification for City
needs, we will prepare the necessary procurement process to pursue our best solution.
BACKGROUND
In the late 1990's the City recognized the need to upgrade its aging computer systems in
order to be prepared for year 2000 (Y2K) compliance. A number of the existing
applications used a variety of proprietary/enterprise operating systems and hardware that
were being phased out by the manufacturers. Financial resources were limited due to
requirements to replace the public safety and other key City information systems, The City
attempted to acquire an integrated suite of systems to automate the majority of the
financial and administrative support functions using a standardized Microsoft systems and
database environment. A request for proposal (RFP) was issued and a number of firms
proposed a wide variety of systems.
Unfortunately, the proposals that were received did not include a single integrated system
that met the requirements. Consequently, with the Y2K issue looming, the City was forced
to make a decision to apply a Y2K "patch" from Mitchell Humphrey to the existing financial
system (FMS) and acquire new systems from other companies to replace the Y2K-non-
compliant Payroll/Human Resources and Utility Billing systems,
Since that time the City has operated with these systems to manage financial matters. The
basic recording functions of the City are being met by these systems though most do not
operate efficiently or provide adequate reporting or ease of use, The quality of support for
the FMSII financial system from Mitchell Humphrey has degraded significantly in recent
years, and the prospect for improved support for these outdated products is poor.
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