COVINGTON, Ky. - As another step toward improving efficiency, Covington City Hall is buying software that will greatly improve the organizing, managing and storing of contracts for everything from infrastructure improvements to economic incentives.
“This software will be a tool that will help us meet state statutory requirements for retention, organize what collectively is a huge volume of records and - in so doing - create order out of chaos,” City Manager David Johnston said. “We’ll be able to find contracts more readily and more easily zero in on the final, executed agreements.”
The Covington City Commission agreed with Johnston’s assessment and voted 5-0 on Tuesday night to authorize the City to contract with SecureDocs Inc. for ContractWorks management software at a cost not to exceed $6,000 a year.
Kendall Huff, Covington’s System Analyst/Project Manager, said the new system would do a number of things for contract management by storing all contracts electronically in a central location to make them easier to find and access by numerous users.
City officials will have the capability to upload and send copies outside City Hall in a quicker manner, he said. Users will have the ability to create work flow for signatures from multiple users. And users will be able to set up “reminders” when action is needed for the contract or to give warning of things like renewal times and expirations.
Like many governmental agencies, Covington has long struggled with the often manual and time-consuming process of collecting, retaining and managing contracts.
“This is an important step toward consistent and effective management of these important agreements,” Huff said. “Little by little, I think residents and anybody who deals with City Hall will start to notice.”
ContractWorks is just the latest effort by City Hall to improve customer service to its residents and businesses.
Two weeks ago, the Commission approved the purchasing of a new work order software program called iWorQ, which is designed to improve efficiency and boost production for City workers, especially in the field. When implemented, the program will also make it easier for residents to report potholes, crumbling curbs, faulty street lights, and other public infrastructure problems.
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