Case Study: City of Lynden, Washington

Lynden is located in the mild climate of northwest Washington, four miles from the Canadian border and 15 miles north of Bellingham. Located mid-way between the metropolitan cities of Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., Lynden is also in close proximity to Mt. Baker and the San Juan Islands. With a population of approximately 12,000 residents, the city has served as the economic and social hub for north county residents for over 100 years. Its agrarian lifestyle, pastoral setting and mild climate make it a desirable community to visit and call home in Whatcom County.

“With cities/counties/states in the U.S. facing falling revenues, the need has never been greater for tools that help reduce costs, improve services to citizens and provide both the ability and flexibility to respond to future challenges. Tempest products have allowed our city to meet these demands in the past and we look forward to continuing our relationship with their products in the future.” (Teresa Camfield, Director of Finance)

During the period of 1990 – 1998, the City of Lynden experienced rapid growth. This growth, combined with an aging, Windows noncompliant financial software system provided by single vendor, put tremendous strain on an already limited system, impeding any opportunity for further growth. In 1999, the City of Lynden completed an RFP process for new financial software. The City needed a system that would not only meet their immediate requirements but had the potential and flexibility for growth. The City chose an industry leading solution from Agresso, going live with Agresso’s Financial Applications that same year. Since then, the City has experienced significant improvements in efficiency, costs, and software reliability.

Tempest Development was approached in the same year by the City of Lynden and Agresso to integrate Tempest’s Cash Management system with Agresso’s General Ledger solution. The project took two months to complete and resulted in a seamlessly integrated point of sale system for the City.

The superior level of professional support and the stability of the Tempest Cash System were key to the City’s decision to approach Tempest Development in 2006 when they required a Utility Billing system. Tempest seamlessly integrated a complex Utility and Land system into the City’s existing Tempest point of sale and Agresso General Ledger environment.

“The Tempest team has a proven track record of successful planning and implementation services. The planning that took place prior to the implementation phase was very substantial and complete. By involving GIS, Public Works, and Finance Utility Billing personnel in the planning process and working through every detail in regards to needs and expectations up front, the system went live on the date promised with very few unforeseen issues. This implementation had the potential of being very difficult, due to the conversion of non-Windows based information in many different formats. The entire process met and exceeded our expectations.” (Teresa Camfield, Director of Finance)

About City of Lynden

The City of Lynden operates with a Council-Mayor form of government. The City council is responsible for enacting all legislation and making policy decisions governing the city. The Mayor is responsible for the administration of the city and the City Administrator is responsible for the operations of the city and also serves as the City Clerk. Lynden is a full function city, with Finance, Fire, Parks, Planning and Community Development, Police and Public Works Departments. The Public Works Department is responsible for the Water, Sewer and Storm Water utilities, as well as the Street functions. The administrative functions of Technical Support, Human Resources, as well as the City Court office report directly to the City Administrator. The city currently employs approximately 70 full time positions, 4 part time positions, 28 firefighter/EMT volunteers, and 7 seasonal positions. The current annual budget is over $45,000,000.

About StarDyne Technologies

Stability of a prospective vendor is important. In July of 2005, StarDyne acquired majority interest in Tempest, facilitating a more rapid strategic plan for growth and a focus on operations with the knowledge that financing and capital was secured. In 2010, StarDyne ranked 26th among software companies, 34th among BC-based companies and 187th overall in PROFIT Magazine’s annual ranking of the PROFIT 100/Next 100. The Tempest Development Group is a member of the Government Solutions Division of StarDyne Technologies.