Dunkirk had to do a Request for Proposals in its quest for a computer interface that all of city government can use.

Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak investigated software providers in 2024 and had a preferred company in mind. However, Luczkowiak — in her first municipal finance job after a career in commercial banking — did not do a formal Request for Proposals, as required by law when big-ticket items are under consideration for purchase.

Luczkowiak told the Common Council’s Finance Committee this week that the request was put out and five companies responded.

Councilman-at-Large Nick Weiser said she should send out a feedback form to everyone who might use the new system, in order to poll everyone quickly.

The Finance Committee also heard Tuesday about another big reform of the way City Hall does business: It is going to implement an online time card system for employees.

Each city department used to have its own system for clocking time — in some cases, employees wrote their hours worked on pieces of paper. Now, every department will be on the same system.

Luczkowiak called it “a humongous change for the city.” The online pay system “will help us better and more accurately handle our time situation, versus a piece of paper you write on.”

Anne Davis, city personnel administrator, said she would be meeting with the software provider twice this week.

“We understand this is a huge change from how we’ve ever done payroll here,” she said. “So we’re going slowly.”

Employees are supposed to start punching in and out online Feb. 23. They can punch on their cell phones, but Davis said there will be interfaces on city computers for people that don’t want to use their personal phones for it.

Employees that are not hourly – such as council members – will have a standard schedule logged into the system for them every week.

The city will have the ability to track employees’ whereabouts if they use their phones to clock in and out. Davis downplayed that, stating that people can opt out of tracking when they initially download the punch program.

“The goal of this is not to track everyone during the day,” she said. The goal is to make punching in and out easy, Davis said.

“It’s hard enough to go through the implementation of payroll – the software’s a big one too,” Luczkowiak said. “We want to make sure it’s the right one for everyone involved.”