ACT Initiative 9 Million in ERP Savings Initiated By Former Chairman Schillerstrom

The 9 million dollars in projected savings over 20 years from the implementation of the ERP Software Application under the ACT Initiative is an inaccurate statement. The implementation of the ERP Software Application was initiated by former DuPage County Chairman Robert Schillerstrom in 2010, under his initiative called Investing In Today; Building For Tomorrow. The ACT Initiative was presented to the DuPage County Board in 2012.

In 2010 the county was in need of some very important capital investments.  The projects included transportation and storm water projects, as well as repairs to the convalescence center and the jail. Other projects included campus emergency generators and new information technology improvements to replace the out of date system that was 30 years old.

The County was in a unique position to substantially reduce the costs of financing the 69.7 million needed for these projects.  The County was able to reduce the costs of the financing  by taking advantage of the limited federal subsidies at reduced interest costs.    The County's AAA rating allowed them to secure bonds that kept the debt service low.

By taking the lead with this opportunity the County was able to fund many projects and save money in the process.  Included in the initiative was the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.  The system integrated sets of software applications that were used to manage assets, financial resources and human resources. 

In 2010 Dan Cronin opposed the 69 million dollar bond purchase. He spoke against the bond purchase at the September 7, 2010 meeting, the minutes are provided here.  Today he is taking credit under his ACT Initiative for unrealized "future" savings of 9 million over 20 years, with a 7.1 million ERP project, still not complete, funded with a 69 million dollar bond purchase he did not support.

The below reference paragraph is from the Investing In Today; Building For Tomorrow 2010 Fact Sheet

INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE

Project Description: An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is defined as an integrated set of software applications used to manage tangible assets, financial resources and human resources. This common architecture is designed to facilitate the flow of information between business units. An ERP is built on a central database utilizing a common computing platform. An integrated enterprise system will bring about greater transparency, meeting new accountability demands and the ability for viewers to easily follow the lifecycle of a county contract, increase efficiencies and productivity of staff, manage grants and provide for faster, more accurate government reporting. Future costs will also be reduced through the consolidation of numerous systems and servers into one common platform. Reduction in costs through the elimination of redundant software licenses, and less expensive hardware will also save the county money. If this project is delayed, the county will incur increased software and hardware support costs due to the need to continue servicing obsolete systems. Total project costs 7.1 million.

ACT Projected Savings

You can find the Investing In Today; Building For Tomorrow 2010 Fact Sheet here.
You can find the ERP Planning Document Update from July 2012 here.
To watch the video from the September 7, 2010 by using the provided link here.
You can read more on this topic here and here.