Burnaby is getting some LIP work done, and it is going to cost big bucks.
The city is replacing its current permit plan system with a much more extensive Licences, Inspections and Permits System. The system purchase and first phase of implementing it comes with an estimated price tag of $8.9 million.
“This is a major software initiative for the city that will, number one, replace the dying permit plan system,” Coun. Dan Johnston, head of the city’s financial management committee, said at the last council meeting. “This would replace that software, which I understand is in its last stages. It would also be able to tie in the new software into our safety system, so there will be some economic real benefits from tying the two systems together.”
The new system would allow city staff to enter and share information while out in the field, Johnston pointed out.
“The software will give our existing staff the ability to replace what they’ve got, but also to be a little more mobile and tie into their laptops,” he said. “When staff are out doing inspections in the community, they’re able to enter information right into the system, they don’t have to come back to the office.”
The current system is more than 18 years old, according to a city staff report, and the hardware and software is no longer supported by the vendors. It is used to process licences, inspections and permits.
The cost for the first phase of the project was estimated to cover software licences, hardware, contingency, professional services and additional staff to implement the new system.
City staff will assess the costs for future upgrades and phases of the project as it is implemented, and will issue staff reports to council when requesting authorization of further expenses, Johnston said.
Last year, the city authorized $4 million in spending for the extension and upgrading of enterprise and departmental applications software. The initiatives covered included a fuel-system upgrade, web portal development, geographic information systems, supplier-relationship management as well as funding towards the replacement of the licence, inspections and permits system.
The first of the city’s major system upgrades came with an even heftier cost, and has cost millions to maintain annually.
Burnaby replaced city hall’s enterprise resource computer system with the multimillion-dollar SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) system in 2007 – the final cost for implementing the system was estimated at $28 million. The total cost of running the portal was more than $29 million as of 2013.
