Post by onthejob on Jan 28, 2012 12:17:12 GMT -5
New obstacle in Nassau's computer update
January 27, 2012 by ROBERT BRODSKY / robert.brodsky@newsday.com
A long-awaited revamp of Nassau County's outdated computer system, already months behind schedule, has hit another speed bump.
Nassau's vendor on the $21.2 contract is owed $2 million for work performed since July on the first phase of the contract to modernize the county's financial system.
But County Comptroller George Maragos is refusing to authorize payment to CMA Consulting Services of Latham, N.Y., claiming the county has not been able to "verify" that the financial system is complete.
CMA general counsel Daniel Wall said the company is working to resolve the dispute and that all of its staff remain on the job. The company has been paid $12 million to date on the contract.
"We are fully committed to the project," Wall said. "We understand that this is a complex environment that the county is working in."
CMA's former chief executive is Joseph L. Bruno, the former New York State Senate majority leader, and his name is on the contract.
Bruno was convicted in 2009 on two counts of fraud, a conviction later vacated. The charges were unrelated to his work at CMA.
The software project is already behind schedule with the financial system due last September. The entire project was supposed to be ready by next January, but Maragos says that deadline can't be met.
Critics contend the contract must now become a higher priority for the administration. "To not get this project moving forward is just throwing good money after bad," said Legis. Wayne H. Wink Jr. (D-Roslyn).
Ed Eisenstein, Nassau's information technology commissioner, said enterprise resource systems are "complex endeavors," and "it is not uncommon for [them] to be delayed due to a variety of factors."
The technology upgrade will consolidate the county's accounting, budgeting, purchasing, human resources and payroll systems, which officials said are antiquated and incompatible with one another.
The contract, awarded in 2008, has drawn criticism in the past. In March 2010, Maragos called for the contract to be canceled, citing its flawed design specifications, lack of clear milestones and missing terms.
A 2010 audit commissioned by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a state watchdog in control of the county's finances, found the project could save taxpayers $30 million-per-year but lacked top county leadership or any full-time Nassau staff devoted to the effort.
The corruption in this county is just amazing.
January 27, 2012 by ROBERT BRODSKY / robert.brodsky@newsday.com
A long-awaited revamp of Nassau County's outdated computer system, already months behind schedule, has hit another speed bump.
Nassau's vendor on the $21.2 contract is owed $2 million for work performed since July on the first phase of the contract to modernize the county's financial system.
But County Comptroller George Maragos is refusing to authorize payment to CMA Consulting Services of Latham, N.Y., claiming the county has not been able to "verify" that the financial system is complete.
CMA general counsel Daniel Wall said the company is working to resolve the dispute and that all of its staff remain on the job. The company has been paid $12 million to date on the contract.
"We are fully committed to the project," Wall said. "We understand that this is a complex environment that the county is working in."
CMA's former chief executive is Joseph L. Bruno, the former New York State Senate majority leader, and his name is on the contract.
Bruno was convicted in 2009 on two counts of fraud, a conviction later vacated. The charges were unrelated to his work at CMA.
The software project is already behind schedule with the financial system due last September. The entire project was supposed to be ready by next January, but Maragos says that deadline can't be met.
Critics contend the contract must now become a higher priority for the administration. "To not get this project moving forward is just throwing good money after bad," said Legis. Wayne H. Wink Jr. (D-Roslyn).
Ed Eisenstein, Nassau's information technology commissioner, said enterprise resource systems are "complex endeavors," and "it is not uncommon for [them] to be delayed due to a variety of factors."
The technology upgrade will consolidate the county's accounting, budgeting, purchasing, human resources and payroll systems, which officials said are antiquated and incompatible with one another.
The contract, awarded in 2008, has drawn criticism in the past. In March 2010, Maragos called for the contract to be canceled, citing its flawed design specifications, lack of clear milestones and missing terms.
A 2010 audit commissioned by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a state watchdog in control of the county's finances, found the project could save taxpayers $30 million-per-year but lacked top county leadership or any full-time Nassau staff devoted to the effort.
CMA's former chief executive is Joseph L. Bruno, the former New York State Senate majority leader, and his name is on the contract.
Bruno was convicted in 2009 on two counts of fraud, a conviction later vacated. The charges were unrelated to his work at CMA.
Bruno was convicted in 2009 on two counts of fraud, a conviction later vacated. The charges were unrelated to his work at CMA.
The corruption in this county is just amazing.
