Kiel council approves utility software contract with Professional Computer Solutions

Speaker 1 (Unidentified Speaker) reported that staff and elected officials reviewed live demonstrations of several software products and recommended buying the utility/accounting package from Professional Computer Solutions. "I was pleasantly surprised by going through the demo; it actually exceeds some of the expectations I had," Speaker 1 said, citing remote meter reading capability, cleaner general-ledger codes and on-site training.

The discussion identified implementation tasks and timing: staff expects work to begin in August, with a period of side-by-side testing before a full go-live. Speaker 1 said the municipality will need to transfer and clean legacy data, and noted the vendor will provide in-person training and customer support. Participants discussed an interface problem with the current billing system (referred to in the record as "Cassell"), which has required some manual keying of meter data; council members emphasized the importance of automating those flows to avoid billing errors.

The packet listed an annual subscription estimate of $25,008.11. Council members discussed financing options, including a financed monthly payment schedule and an outright-purchase alternative. After discussion, Speaker 3 moved to approve the contract between the City of Kiel/Kiel Utilities and Professional Computer Solutions for the software described in the packet; the motion was seconded, a roll call was taken and the measure carried 5-0.

The council did not identify any penalties for early termination in the contract review. Next steps: staff will finalize the agreement, schedule vendor onboarding in the late summer, and run parallel testing prior to the system cutover.