Niles' $225K billing software not good, officials say

NILES — The city spent $225,000 on billing and departmental software that failed to perform to expectations since its installation in 2011, according to information presented to city council tonight.

“We put the system in for auditing, accounts payable and [utility] billing, but the software was too labor intensive and hit and miss,” Auditor Charles Nader said. “This was not software written for a municipality.”

Nader said the city decided it had enough and stopped paying the software provider, Cogsdale Systems of Canada, in August. Niles had been paying more than $7,500 monthly to lease the software from Cogsdale.

Tom Telego, billing manager, said instead of saving time, the system caused delays in collecting delinquent utility payments. Making matters worse, Telego said Cogsdale rarely responded to the city’s requests for help.

The billing manager said the software caused more problems than the 22-year old computer programs it replaced.

Asked why it had taken so long for the city to cut its ties with Cogsdale, Mayor Ralph Infante said it took “at least a year to implement” the software and he hoped the system would work out.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com