By Chris Fox
For The Elmhurst Independent
The Elmhurst Park District Board held a regular meeting on Jan. 29 at the district’s administrative office at 375 W. First Street. Commissioner Tim Sheehan was absent from the meeting.
There were no public comments.
Purchase of financial, human resources software approved
The board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of a financial, payroll and human resources management software system, including implementation, from BS&A Software at a cost not to exceed $149,190. According to the park district, the district’s current financial software and separate payroll and human services software have been in place for close to 20 years. Those systems, which are reportedly obsolete, no longer receive updates from their vendors.
Human resource software is primarily used by businesses and organizations to manage and optimize daily human resource tasks as well as an organization’s overall HR goals. HR software tends to enable HR professionals and managers to better allocate their time and resources to more productive and profitable endeavors. However, before purchasing any software for their businesses, IT companies conduct extensive research. In fact, if you are a new business owner, you could be skeptical to consider whether or not should you read reviews before purchasing any type of business management software. But it is very important to do so. Also, it may give you an idea about how valuable it might be to purchase any expensive software for your company.
Coming back to human resource software, staff researched software providers used by other park districts and narrowed the choice to BS&A and Tyler/Incode. The BS&A software includes the first-year implementation cost of $149.140, with recurring annual maintenance charges of nearly $10,000.The Tyler/Incode software includes a similar first-year implementation cost ($146,430); its annual maintenance cost is about $40,000.
Several area park districts have recently implemented the BS&A system, which will allow for the conversion of 10 years of the Elmhurst Park District’s database history. The purchase has been budgeted in the district’s 2018 fiscal year spending plan.
Board members also voted unanimously during the meeting to approve the purchase of 75 PC workstations from Dell at a total cost of nearly $48,000. According to the district, the information technology industry standard for replacing workstations is after three to four years. The park district’s PC workstations have reportedly reached or passed that age.
The district sought pricing from multiple PC resellers and manufacturers. The district sent specifications to Dell, CDW-G and SHI for quotes on 75 workstations. Dell submitted the lowest quote of $47,625, or $635 per PC. The district has funds earmarked for the purchase in its 2018 fiscal year budget.
Distinguished agency accreditation discussed
The Jan. 29 meeting also included a discussion of the distinguished agency accreditation process. The district was last reaccredited by the Illinois Association of Park Districts and Illinois Park and Recreation Association as an Illinois Distinguished Agency in 2012. The district is in the process of seeking reaccreditation. The process includes the submission of information and evidence, as well as an evaluation, to a committee. The district paid an application fee of $500 to go through the reaccreditation process. The application must be completed by this fall.
Elmhurst Park District Executive Director Jim Rogers noted during the discussion that districts that have won the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management have generally been accredited agencies.
The park district board will hold its next meeting on Feb. 12.
