State’s main computers face ‘immediate crisis’

Friday, Aug. 18, 2000 | 11:25 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- One of the two primary state government computers is "on the verge of a meltdown" and the second is not far behind, prompting Gov. Kenny Guinn to declare an emergency to release more than $2 million to fix the problems.

"There is an immediate crisis," said Terry Savage, acting director of the state Department of Information Technology. He told a legislative oversight committee on technology Thursday that one of the computers "is going to max out in a week."

Included in the emergency upgrade is the computer program at the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, which has encountered a myriad of problems.

So far the department has not experienced any slowdown at its field offices in dealing with the public, a department official said.

"It's not an issue now, but it will be if the improvements are not made," Deputy Director Ginny Lewis said this morning.

There were long lines and delays in processing auto registrations last year when the "Genesis" system was installed. The department is on one of the state's main computers, which are near capacity and starting to experience slowdown problems.

The two systems are so close to capacity that there is a growing lag in response time. Savage said there is a 15-minute wait sometimes before entries can be made. The loss of productivity is costing $75,000 to $100,000 because of the slow down.

Unemployment and welfare checks won't be delayed since they are processed at night when the activity on the two computers is reduced.

A computer spokeswoman said this morning that the slow down means a "waste of time" for state employees who may have to wait 5 minutes or longer to switch from screen to screen to process such things as applications for public assistance.

Because of the overload, many state departments haven't been able to enter their detailed budgets for the next biennium into the computer. Instead these agencies have delivered the proposed spending programs on paper to budget officials.

The committee, headed by Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, endorsed the emergency declaration by the governor. And further improvements may be approved when the Legislative Interim Finance Committee meets Sept. 12.

Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, said, "We have to respond to the need." The money for upgrading the two computers will come from reserve funds in the agency.

The endorsement by the committee means the department can swing into action within the next 15 days rather than waiting until the meeting next month of the Legislative Interim Finance Committee. Savage said these upgrades will be relatively simple.

In June, Jim Polito, chief of planning and programming for the information technology department, told the committee that the two computers would not need additional capacity until June of next year. Polito has since transferred to the state Attorney General's Office.

Savage said Polito's statement had "dim relationship to reality."

One reason for the crisis is the increased use by the state Welfare Division for its NOMADS system, programmed to collect child support payments and handle public assistance cases. Savage, who was deputy director of the department until Director Marlene Lockard resigned, called NOMADS "an 800-pound gorilla."

The welfare division has been on an accelerated schedule to put 210,000 cases on the system so Nevada will comply with federal law and not be fined again starting in October. This has led to the filling up of the computer faster than previously predicted.

Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, questioned whether the welfare division should continue "NOMADS" in view of its cost. Under questioning by O'Donnell, Brian Spencer, chief accountant for information technology, estimated the cost of the NOMADS for programmers and use of the computer at around $9 million a year.

"We're spending an inordinate amount of money on a system that will be obsolete in four to five years," O'Donnell said. He added it "costs more to keep the system running than writing checks every year." The state, he said should "consider pulling the plug" on NOMADS.

He said NOMADS was a "big part" of the reason that the system is near collapse. Eliminating NOMADS, he said could cure the major capacity problem with one of the computers. He suggested the governor appoint a task force to look at the possibility of scrapping NOMADS, which has been in the development stage for more than 10 years at a cost of more than $100 million.

The department's plan, which the governor agreed to, calls for expanding both computer systems.

Savage said the upgrading the smaller computer system would ease the problem for that unit, used by the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, the Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation and the state budget. The larger computer is used by NOMADS, Child and Family Services and the Taxation Department.

While the more than $2 million upgrading will take care the immediate problem, Savage is recommending a second step expansion of one of the computer. That issue will be examined by the Interim Finance Committee to determine if there is enough money to add the extra capacity.

Beers suggested the technology department also examine the possibility of taking the budget data off one system and transferring it to one used by the Legislature. That would result in additional capacity for one computer. But Savage said that would be costly and take four to seven months, which is not possible now because the state is preparing its biennial budget.