The City of Hastings will store data on the cloud through Secant technologies with a startup cost of $5,500. The “cloud” uses a network of remote servers on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.

 

With a standalone server going to the cloud, they won’t need network servers or peripherals. It will save the city money, increase flexibility, and safety and firewall protections. City e-mail will also be in the cloud, Hastings Deputy City Manager Jerry Czarnecki said.

“This is pushing us forward in technology; upgrades can be done all at once.”

 

The downside is a common fear that they have their information and they might not be able to “divorce” the service, “but Secant has guaranteed we can divorce them,” he said. If the city did leave the cloud, they would need servers to accept its data.

“They do a good job and solve problems immediately,” he said of Secant.

 

In other business Tuesday, the council heard of changes planned by Clerk/Treasurer Jane Saurman.  “As the 2019-20 original budget has now been adopted, we will begin to implement the changes to our city chart of accounts in order to get off to a running start in the next fiscal year,” she said.

Saurman is implementing some new internal control measures in the Finance Department which currently include remote check capture and ACH and check positive bill payment procedures.

 

She is closing out the unused DARE account and transferring the balance to the general fund in a special account for police activities to be designated by Chief Jeff Pratt. There is about $133 in the account.

 

Saurman will set up a Trust and Agency Account for possibly a half dozen specific accounts where the city takes in and then disburses funds to others, keeping a small amount for the transaction.  She also recommends changing the city’s Capital Asset policy by listing only those assets that are valued at least $5,000, up from $1,000.