Members of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees agreed to enter into a contract for Human Resources and Payroll Services through ADP during their regular meeting earlier this month.
The $55,000 annual services contract is expected to save the township about $68,000 annually, according to estimates from officials. In addition to the $55,000 fee, the township will pay a one-time implementation fee to Foster Thomas, a contractor used by ADP to help install and set up the computerized system.
Matt Novak, a representative from ADP described the new system to the members of the board, noting that the computerized records will maintain all the data needed to manage payroll for hourly and salaried employees and help managers control the workflow with scheduling.
“The system,” he said, “is completely customizable to maximize efficiency.” He said personnel records would now be on a cloud-based system rather than a paper-based one. He added that the new system would protect township records far more efficiently while providing greater access to them at three levels. The system is designed for payroll management and will be able to provide information on multiple platforms, he noted, including employee insurance regulations and provisions of the Affordable Care Act which may change.
“The system is well-attuned to life cycle events,” he said. “It will also help with employee development and help support the success of employees.”
He added that the system provides immediate and accurate tax information.
“The system will allow employees, supervisors and others to have access to only their allowed field,” he said, stressing the security of the system and the efficiency of allowing employees to check their work schedules and managers to know the exact hours employees worked.
Those hours will be recorded by a state of the art computerized time clock that can be seen in the system, he said, which will include security features such as a bar code or a thumbprint scanner and in some cases, a touch screen.
He added that employees would now have access to immediate support from 8 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. daily to “my life” advisors to help plan for life events such as changes in status or planned or emergency time off.
“This is a partnership,” he stressed. He added that the ADP system can communicate with other systems used by vendors and taxing authorities, making required or necessary transfer of records much simpler.
Trustee Matt Oddy inquired as to the record-keeping by department of the system.
“As an example, we, as a board, have to know the costs in the fire department where we have volunteers,” he said. Novak said the system can interact with the software already being used by the fire chief to calculate those hours and that those records can be exported to the ADP system.
“Or, it can be done manually, it can be developed and customized any way the township wants,” Novak said.
The system will require a part-time township employee to ensure that data is entered into the ASP system correctly and in a timely manner, Novak said.
Township Financial Director Michelle Cole said she expected this part time employee would would work about two days a week, “depending on the ebb and flow of HR issues,” she said. The cost for the part-time employee coordinator for the system was estimated at about $24,000.
Township attorney Rob Young said he would like to ensure there is a hold-harmless clause in the contract that would mutually indemnify ADP and the township, each being responsible for any liability for their own actions.
“We should stand on our own two feet and be responsible for anything we do that might result in a lawsuit and ADP should be responsible for anything they do. They need to hold us harmless,” Young said.
Pending a final review by Young, the board members unanimously agreed to move forward with the new system.
