The Town of St. Paul’s finance department will be closed to the public on March 27 and March 30 as staff transition to a new accounting software system.

Council approved the temporary closure during its March 9 meeting to allow staff to move from the Town’s current software, Bellamy, to a new system called Sylogist.

According to the administration, the new software is scheduled to go live on March 30, with the Friday before set aside as a data transfer day.

“What this means for us is that anything we do in Bellamy, if we can even access it, won’t carry over to the new software on the following Monday,” administration told council.

Staff will still be working both days, but the front counter will be closed to reduce pressure during the transition. Administration said the closure will give staff time to complete final training, troubleshoot, and get comfortable with the new program before handling the public in real time.

Online bill payments, phone calls and full deposits will still be processed on the go-live day.

Councillor Nathan Rosychuk asked whether the dates were firm, and administration said that while software rollouts can sometimes shift, the Town is moving ahead on the assumption that March 27 and 30 are the closure dates.

“If that does happen, I would brief council again on what the next possible closure could be,” Jeffery said.

Mayor Glenn Andersen said he had also spoken with Chief Financial Officer Mitchel Bachelet about the launch and said staff appear confident heading into the switch.

Council approved the closure request unanimously.