Editorial: Computer goofs hurt taxpayers

Friday, March 27, 1998 | 10:34 a.m.

REGRETFULLY, another name is being added to an expanding list of state agencies that have experienced glitches, higher than anticipated costs, and delays from new computer systems and programs.

The Legislature's Interim Finance Committee on Wednesday approve the transfer of $4.2 million to help the state Division of Child and Family Services pay for a cost overrun for a new computer system, bringing the total cost to $14.2 million.

According to the Associated Press, Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, voted against the transfer after he questioned why the total cost of the contract with BDM International was so much higher than the original estimate of $6 million in 1996. Other members of the Interim Finance Committee voted for the contract after they were told that the earlier estimate was done by a consultant before major changes occurred in the computer programming industry, which drove prices higher.

The Division of Child and Family Services isn't alone; other state agencies have been experiencing problems with computer systems. The state Division of Welfare's $54 million computer system, which was installed in 1989, still isn't online. And the state Department of Taxation had to go to court to force a contractor to pay more than $500,000 to fix a computer system.

Last, but not least, the Legislature itself has been having difficulties as well; its $1.7 million system was never at full speed during the 1997 session. And even though legislators have new $6,000 laptop computers, not all bother to use them. For instance, a survey found that only 31 of the 63 legislators turned on their taxpayer-purchased computers from Jan. 8 through Feb. 23 of this year.

So what should be done? To his credit, Division of Child and Family Services chief Steve Shaw appears to be putting safeguards in place. He said his agency's contract will include performance bonds and other measures to make sure the system is properly set up. "We built triple guarantees into this. We shifted the risk from the state to BDM," Shaw said. But we question why these safeguards weren't included earlier. Shaw's boss, Human Resources Director Charlotte Crawford, should keep a closer watch on the agencies within her huge department.

Executive branch agencies and the Legislature need to get a better grip on accurately estimating the cost of computer systems; they need to be more realistic in their budgeting and forecasting as to when a system will be ready for use. These are taxpayer dollars at risk; every care should be taken to make sure that the state is getting its money's worth.