1 week Ago By By REBEKAH MCNERNEY [email protected]
KINGSPORT — The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman on Monday heard two presentations tied to projected expenses in the city’s upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget. City officials are anticipating a multi-million dollar investment to modernize Kingsport’s financial information system, which is used to manage payroll, salaries, and public services such as water. The city is also eyeing an increase in employees' salaries and benefits in order to remain competitive in its wages.
Finance system upgrade Floyd Bailey, Kingsport's chief information officer, presented to the BMA on why the city needs to replace its current Financial Information System (FIS). He described the current system as a green-screen legacy platform that is inefficient, costly and difficult to maintain. “For years, we’ve been talking about the need to upgrade our legacy systems, but the need is now more critical than ever,” Bailey told the board.
“The current system is outdated, inefficient, difficult to train new employees on, and increasingly incompatible with modern software.” The FIS is important for city operations, Bailey said, because it is used for payroll, budgeting, billing, accounts payable and receivable, and financial reporting. The new system is expected to cost approximately $3 million in the first year, with an additional $700,000 to $750,000 in annual support costs.
"We are looking at three different systems, which are all leading FIS systems on the market right now," he said. During the transition, the city will also continue paying about $360,000 annually to maintain the old system until the switch is complete — a process expected to take 24 to 36 months. Once fully implemented, the annual maintenance cost of the new system is projected to level out around $740,000.
Bailey said that the city's current FIS system was purchased in 1989 and has been difficult to integrate with other platforms Kingsport uses. Extracting data from it is difficult which has costed the city time and money. He also said younger employees often leave shortly after being hired due to the "cumbersome nature of the software," which requires extensive training and lacks "intuitive usability.
" "Our system, because it's old is also more vulnerable to cyber attacks," Bailey said. "When we upgrade, we'll improve data protection and our compliance to cybersecurity regulations. It will be easier integration and updates with other software as well.
That is more efficient for the city." Although the new system will cost more for the city to operate, Bailey said it will bring faster financial reporting, automate manual tasks and reduce paperwork. "The reality is, the costs are going up and all of the software is landing in this range," he said.
"So no matter where we go or what we do, we're going to be forced into this footprint of expense for a finance enterprise solution." City employees' salaries In a separate presentation, Kingsport Human Resources Director Tyra Copas updated the BMA on the city’s ongoing comprehensive salary study, conducted in partnership with Burris, Thompson and Associates (BTA). Copas said that no firm budget numbers are available yet, but early projections suggest the general fund may need an additional $2 to $3 million to implement recommended salary scale adjustments and position reclassifications.
“We’re still reviewing the data and working with department leaders,” Copas said. “The goal is to make sure our salary structure is competitive — both to recruit and retain employees — and to correct positions that have fallen behind market rates.” The study identified 78 positions — representing about 200 employees — that are below market value and may require reclassification to a higher pay grade.
Key departments affected include fire, police, engineering, transportation, utilities and skilled trades. Copas said the city is still negotiating some of the public safety salary scales with the consulting firm and is reviewing options for cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and step increases. “We’re on round three of pushing back, specifically on the public safety side, to make sure we get it right,” she said.
The BTA study also included a benefits review, which compared Kingsport’s offerings with those in both the public and private sectors. The city’s health insurance earned a “6” on a 1-to-9 scale, with analysts noting Kingsport’s free onsite clinic adds value even if premium costs appear high at first glance. Dental, vision, vacation and holidays scored comparably with regional peers.
However, the city’s lack of short-term disability coverage received its lowest score and may be an area for future improvement. Copas stressed the importance of building long-term consistency into Kingsport’s salary structure. “We’ve seen how quickly falling behind even one year, like last year’s 1% COLA, can cause real damage to our pay scales,” she said.
“We need a strategy for consistent annual COLAs, not just for FY 2026 but for the years that follow.” City Manager Chris McCartt also said Kingsport needs to be more consistent in reviewing changes in cost of living and making sure the city remains competitive in its wages. As city leaders move toward finalizing the FY 2026 budget, both the FIS replacement and salary adjustments are expected to be major funding considerations.
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