25 July 2023
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: RLC's OneCouncil IT system
Enquiry
I am looking to do a story updating the public on the new OneCouncil system and had some questions.
The council first started looking for a new system in 2015, correct? Why?
In 2017 when it was approved to move to the OneCouncil system it had $3.4m allocated until 2018 and was expected to be complete by that year.
What was the reason/s for the five year delay?
What contributed to the final cost being $18,413,700 total?
Can a breakdown of cost increases please be provided
It was said in 2017 the public might not notice any changes - has anything changed to what was planned for the upgrade then and now? (And if so is this part of the cost increase?)
Are staff happy with how it has been working since live?
Is the council aware of how its implementation of the system differs to other councils in the country using OneCouncil?
Is the council aware of what other councils paid to implement the system?
How can the system be utilised going forward? (And is that to extra cost, and if so what is it?)
In the module schedule, can a brief description of what each is please be provided? Is there any cost to this not budgeted for? (Will the total cost of 18.4m increase and to what?)
Response
We initially spoke to the reporter to clarify a few things relating to her enquiry, informing her that implementation of OneCouncil was done in phases that began in 2017 with only Phase One completed in 2018. We encouraged her to read the report in the Audit & Risk Agenda which covered off some of the detail she was seeking. It appeared she was getting her base information from a media article published about OneCouncil in 2017.
We then also provided the following information:
From DCE Organisational Enablement Thomas Collé:
OneCouncil is a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that replaces several older software systems that were used by the Council and were becoming outdated and inadequate for the size and complexity of the organisation. It combines the functionalities of previous systems that were used for transactions, the council’s geospatial system and document management system and has automated previously manual processes.
OneCouncil provides an efficient, integrated and accessible solution that will ensure the council keeps up with changing needs for at least the next decade.
The total cost of OneCouncil includes licenses, vendor support, third-party assistance and project-related staffing costs. A budget totalling $14.9m was allocated across several years. Additional funding totalling $3.5m was sought later due to the increased resourcing and consultancy costs, arising from the impacts of Covid and increased configuration costs which came about from Council being the first in New Zealand to implement the CiA Property and Rating solution. Neither of these two factors were known at the time of setting original budgets.
The project was delivered in two phases: Phase 1 included accounts payable, supply chain, and financial reporting, and was successfully delivered by May 2018. Phase 2, involving property and rating modules, document management, enterprise maps and community portals experienced delays, partly due to the impact of COVID-19. Phase 2 went live on May 31, 2023.
Like any ERP system replacement, the project faced challenges that are being managed. Staff experienced a drop in productivity initially while adapting to the new system. However, significant business processes, such as animal licenses, rates strike and billing have been successfully run on the new system.
In future, OneCouncil will enable us to offer a customer portal for improved self-service and there is room for ongoing further efficiency gains. We will continue collaborating with the vendor to ensure ongoing enhancements and better solutions for both staff and customers.