Belmont Selectboard approves new financial software, alert platform

BELMONT — Technology drove the conversation at the Sept. 16 selectboard meeting, as leaders approved the purchase and implementation of two new software platforms. The systems are meant to improve efficiency at Town Hall, and better notify residents of ongoing announcements through opt-in push notifications.

The first software considered was for financial purposes, like water and sewer billing, and for the town clerk and tax collector. Currently, an outdated system has plagued Town Hall with inefficiencies, incorrect information and belabored tasks like running reports.

“What should take an hour or two is taking my team eight hours to do; water, sewer reads now, if not longer,” Town Administrator Alicia Jipson said during a presentation to the board. “We're seeing a lot of issues with our water and sewer reads, because it is so outdated that it's not reading with the census. So we're running into issues where water and sewer, that has to done by hand.”

After interviewing five companies across the country all summer, Jipson sought board support to move forward with MTS, a New Hampshire-based company under the umbrella of the Municipal Resources Inc., and their accounting platform specifically designed with local government in mind.

Time was spent evaluating cost, software capabilities and integrations, and customer support. The price was a big factor in Jipson’s decision, comparing the current outdated software cost at roughly $13,500 a year to the MTS $15,000, a nominal difference. An additional host fee would be factored in during the conversion to keep both operating systems functional to avoid downtime, bringing the total onboarding cost to $44,550.

“This is like a three-month process getting into our information, saving it, moving it to the new software; that's why that cost exists,” Jipson said. “Once we're up and running with them, on an annual basis it's very similar to what we're currently paying.”

Many of the other companies Jipson researched came in with rates nearly double.

According to MRI’s website, MTS is “a new venture to offer New Hampshire communities an affordable, fully integrated fund accounting platform designed to meet the unique operational and compliance needs of NH municipal governments.” Roughly 60 Granite State communities have a contract with MTS.

The town’s software upgrade is basically a requirement at this point, given the outdated infrastructure and inability to integrate with more modern options.

“Over the past couple years, we have talked about our software being really outdated. And the current software that we have, a new company purchased that company,” Jipson said. “At some point, they were going to force us to make a change into their new software, or whatever the case may be. I mean, it is really, really old. It does the job, but you know there's just so many different softwares out there that will be more efficient, and really at the same cost.”

The board voted 5-0, with Travis O’Hara making the motion to accept the proposal, and Mark Lewandoski seconding it.

“In this day and age, you can't fall behind with technology. You absolutely can't dig a hole,” Lewandoski said. “I'm good with it. You did your due diligence, and getting the lowest pricing while still not giving up your options. Yeah, I'm good with it.”

In other software news, the board OK'd Jipson to move forward with a free, mass notification software implementation to allow residents to sign up for push notifications in a variety of categories. The software will allow Town Hall to better keep residents informed of ongoing events like emergencies, meeting cancellations, bill reminders, and election news.

“I found out, through a referral from another town, that the State of New Hampshire offers a free program that we can jump on for $0,” Jipson told the board.

New Hampshire’s emergency notification software, powered by Genasys Protect, is a statewide mass emergency notification system operated by the state's Division of Emergency Services and Communications. It would allow Belmont direct access to the platform to broadcast geo-specific messages to the community through phone calls, text messages, emails or app alerts. It can be used for both emergency and non-emergency alerts.

“We got set up with our basic portal. We've had some training. The fire department, [public works], police department and administration did some training on it already. We are working on finishing up the categories that people can sign up for, such as road and parking alerts, water, sewer, community events, elections and voting, general notices, budget. Those will all be options when people sign up that they can do,” Jipson said. “People will choose whether they want to use an app that they download on their phone to just get push notifications, through text messages, through email, or through voice calls.”

It was a no-brainer for Belmont leaders.

“It's completely free, and we're moving on it,” Jipson said.

For more information, visit belmontnh.gov.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.