May 31, 2009 10:24 PM UTC

Administrative incompetence hurts people

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• by: DavidThi808

We all talk about Ritter’s political decisions sticking it to labor in favor of large companies with unionized workers. Most of us find his veto of unemployment for locked out workers anti-fairness. But at the end of the day it is a political decision and if he wants to make his political decisions as a tool of a segement of the business community, it is a legit choice for him to make.

But we also need to look at the job he is doing administering the state. Running the state, implementing the policy as set by the political decisions of the legislature and governor, is an a-political effort. I think we have strong concensus that the state should do it’s job effectively and efficiently.

And by this measure Governor Ritter is doing poorly. From the Denver Post we have:

Colorado’s most powerful charitable foundations have spent millions to feed hungry people this year – including money that could be funneled to other needs if state and county officials were able to get food stamps to the poor on time.

In this time of economic crisis we have the state unable to provided funded assistance to our poorest residents. And this includes federal funds that are available, except the state can’t deliver them.

But charities are stepping in to the void. So no harm right? Except for what we then lose:

The Denver Foundation has devoted $983,000 to food so far this year, up from $190,000 last year at this time. Grants that usually go to arts, schools, health care and the environment have been diverted to hunger relief.

So what’s the problem? The root issue appears to be some really badly designed software. We’re not talking sub-optimal here, we’re talking programmers who should never be allowed near a keyboard.

Counties also complained that CBMS is nonintuitive, that it takes 45 minutes to enter data for one application and that, when moving from one screen to the other, things like names and addresses have to be re-entered.

But not to worry, the Ritter Administration is stepping up to solve this issue:

Last fall, the state awarded a $90,000 contract to the system’s creator, Electronic Data Systems, to study how to simplify and quicken the program for counties and clients.

That’s right, they hired the same brain trust that delivered this piece of junk to figure out how to fix it. This is like hiring Geroge Bush to head up our efforts to improve other country’s opinion of the United States.

But there’s more:

A new $48.6 million four-year contract with Deloitte Consulting will include creating a Web-based application system in nine months, state officials say. … State officials also hope Deloitte can create a more facile application process within a year and a half.

That’s right, the state apparently needs 4 years, longer than it took Microsoft to create Windows 7, to “fix” this system. And what makes them think trying the same approach of a high priced consulting company on a multi-year contract is going to have a different outcome than their previous multi-year contract with a high priced consultant.

Now Evan Dryer says that the State is working to take care of this as well as possible.

“Can we do better? Yes. Is there a sense of urgency to remedy any shortcomings in the system? Absolutely.”

Except that is utter bullshit. (Note – Evan may very well not know this is bullshit.) The state has crappy software. One of the first steps you do in this case is look for alternatives. Preferably alternatives you can get off the shelf. But the State of Colorado will not look.

Reporting software is a component of a system like this. It’s a secondary component (not primary), but it is one of some import. For 2 years (35 times since 5/22/07) my company has tried to get Michael Locatis, the CIO for the State of Colorado, to have someone in his office take a look at our system.

This is not that they looked at it and we’re not a good fit – this is they have no interest in even seeing something new to determine if it could help. (This is not about my company, this is using my company as a concrete example of the Ritter administration’s unwillingness to look at better solutions.)

The root issue here is the state has serious software needs – food stamps, stimulus reporting, etc where people are being harmed and the state must return funds to the federal government. And what I think it is reasonable for us to expect from any administration, Republican or Democratic, is that they do this well. Not perfectly, but at least competently.

Everyone complains that Ritter avoids political decisions as long as possible. It appears that he is also avoiding taking proactive action in running the state too.

But don’t worry, Governor Ritter is going to host a free opportunity and help fair at the State Capitol on Tuesday afternoon for working families struggling to survive the economic downturn. That is as long as that help is not food stamps, stimulus funds, ar anything else that requires a working computer system…

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