Audit: Company paid, but delivered little
An Atlanta company collected tens of thousands of dollars to do essentially nothing under a Fulton County information technology contract, an audit found.
But the county hasn’t asked for a refund. In fact, it may give the company more business.
A recent audit of the Fulton Information Technology Department found the county paid Atlanta-based Vixio Technology $147,950 over nine months to support software after the software license had expired and the county no longer used it. The auditor concluded Fulton received nothing for its money.
Vixio Technology CEO Ed Ukaonu declined numerous requests for comment.
In its official response to the audit, the IT Department said the payments resulted from a miscommunication among administrators. County Manager Dick Anderson said the IT official paying the bills didn’t realize the software was not being used. He called the oversight “a classic of poor management.”
Anderson said the department has changed its procedures to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
In the meantime, rather than ask for a refund, IT officials are working with Vixio to test a new version of the software. If they like it, Vixio would give the county credit for the improper payments.
Anderson said he’s fine with that approach, but added, “If we don’t find a fit (for the new software), I would go back to them and demand a cash payment.”
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS: READ THE AUDITS AND RESPONSES
About the Author
David Wickert writes about the state budget, finance and voting issues. Previously, he covered local government and politics in Gwinnett and Fulton counties. Before moving to Atlanta, he worked at newspapers in Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.
