Among the problems cited in two recent audits of Fulton County’s Information Technology Department:
- Companies overbilled the department.
- The department paid for software support after software licenses had expired.
- Employees may have skirted rules for awarding contracts.
- Too cozy a relationship existed between employees and vendors.
The price to fix Fulton County’s troubled Information Technology Department topped $2 million Wednesday and could continue to rise.
The Fulton Board of Commissioners agreed to pay SHI International Corp. of Roswell more than $1.5 million for Microsoft software the county is using but hasn’t paid for – an oversight reported in one of two recent audits critical of the IT Department. Commissioners also agreed to pay a consultant up to $595,000 to examine IT operations.
County Manager Dick Anderson said the consultant – Atlanta-based Accenture LLP – will address issues raised in the audit and determine what it takes "to make Fulton County the leader in digital government and, by virtue of that, the leader in customer service and efficiency."
But former IT Director Maurice Ficklin, who believes he was fired last fall for blowing the whistle on contracting abuses, said the county still hasn’t addressed the department’s problems. He questioned the need for the consultant.
“I just see business as usual,” Ficklin said. “Taxpayer money is still not being used the way it should be used.”
In December, an audit found the department paid $14.6 million to vendors before they performed services, leaving few options if the work wasn't satisfactory. It also found too cozy relations between IT managers and vendors, excessive salaries for some contract employees and a failure to monitor vendor performance.
A second audit, released in March, found IT managers may have skirted purchasing rules, overpaid vendors and retaliated against an employee who reported problems. And it found the department failed to pay Microsoft for all the software licenses it used because it significantly under counted the number of computers and servers using the company's software.
Anderson said Accenture will report back in 30 days on a host of issues stemming from the audits. The goal of that first report, he said, will be to determine what it takes “to get the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for the department as it exists today.”
In coming months, Accenture also will make broader recommendations about Fulton’s approach to information technology. Anderson envisions technology that could enable residents to pay property taxes or register their cars online. He sees a revamped IT as the backbone of a more efficient government with improved services.
Ficklin said an adequate review of IT operations should cost far less than $595,000. Anderson said it’s “an infinitesimal amount of money” compared to the county’s approximately $1 billion annual budget.
Anderson told commissioners the total cost of revamping the department could be tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars over many years.
Commissioner Joan Garner said she thinks hiring the consultant will allow the county to deal with pressing issues raised in the audits and plot a long-term course for the county.
“I hope they will look at (the department) at the 5,000-foot level as well as the 1-foot level,” Garner said.
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