EDS deal cheaper says ARC

By ADAM GIFFORD

The Auckland Regional Council has signed an $11 million deal with EDS to operate its new rates billing system for the next three years.

Operations director Tony Darby said the decision was made because it would cost the council an extra $1 million a year to run the system in-house.

Geac's Pathway, the same software used by most councils, including Auckland City and North Shore, will be used to generate bills for the 450,000 households from Wellsford to Waiuku.

Council chief executive Jo Brosnahan said: "It came down to scale - there aren't many systems with the proven capacity to cope with those sorts of volumes. This will be the largest rating system in Australasia."

The council is shifting to direct collection of rates as a result of local government changes. Its rates were previously a one-line item on the rates bills sent out by the seven territorial local authorities in its region.

Darby said the ARC paid the councils $2 million a year to collect the rates on its behalf and a further $1 million towards the costs of maintaining the land valuation databases.

"If you project it out, the cost of doing it the way we do will equalise in 4 1/2 years."

EDS will help the council to build its rating system, calculate the rates requirement, print and mail the invoices, run a call centre using Geac's WorkSmart software and chase up non-payers.

The Bank of New Zealand has been chosen as banking agent and NZ Post will act as a collection agent, although Darby said they were still negotiating how to work together.

A working system ready for testing is due to be completed by May, with the first bills going out in July.