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Why now?
Today, the city is relying on software that has reached the end of its life. The American Management Systems Advantage program, used in past years for HR/payroll functions, has to be supported by a team of dedicated city employees with very limited support from AMS.

“Paying 22,000-plus employees is a critical function and we cannot rely on aging software that is not supported by the developer,” Silva said. “AMS Advantage was no longer efficient. And due to its age, there was the growing risk of a systems failure that would severely hobble the city’s ability to pay employees.”

SAP is leading-edge business technology, used by more than 27,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

Toward tomorrow
“It’s like breaking out of a strait-jacket,” said Earl Lambert, citywide chief technology officer and director of project implementation. “When it comes to generating payments, SAP is more responsive and flexible to the needs of our employees, citizens and customers.

“This has been a citywide effort,” Lambert said. “The design and implementation of this project has been made possible by teamwork across all city departments to make sure employees will be paid accurately and on time.”

The new HR/payroll system is scheduled to cut its first employee paychecks in January 2007.

The city will be changing to a one-payroll cycle. Municipal-cycle employees will merge into the Police and Fire pay cycle with all department payrolls running every two weeks.

“We’re drawing on the successes and lessons learned from corporations and other cities,” Silva said. “Now, we’ll have a single HR/payroll system for all city departments. Everyone who receives a city paycheck will benefit.” (See Payroll merge dates box.)

“Our objective is to make sure that every employee is paid correctly,” Lambert said. “We are committed to stopping problems before they happen, but should any glitches occur, we have a dedicated team to fix them immediately.

“It may take a little patience and perseverance, but the city will have a better payroll system to serve its employees,” Lambert said.

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