A decade-long effort to replace the poorly-connected computer systems that the California State Controller’s Office uses to pay approximately 294,000 civil service employees has run aground.
In a 37-page letter to contractor SAP Public Services obtained by the Los Angeles Times, project administrator Jim Lombord said the $371-million system was “foundering and in danger of collapsing.” The letter said SAP missed nine of its 44 deadlines this year.
Once complete, the MyCalPays system would handle payroll for 160 agencies and integrate six different human resources systems. The aim is to migrate the departments to the system on a quarterly basis over a 15-month period. But a test in June aimed at just 1,300 employees was deemed a failure when more than 400 paychecks ended up with errors.
Plans to launch a trial run in September were cancelled and replaced with a March 2013 target date.
SAP, which is based in West Germany, took over the troubled project in 2010 when the original contractor, Bearingpoint, was fired after being paid $26 million. The German company has been paid $50 million so far, but the state has spent a total of $254 million on the effort, called the 21st Century Project.
SAP spokesman Andy Kendzie pledged to get the problems fixed and told the Times, “Considering the project's complexity, and the many requirements involved in payroll processing, there have been some challenges.”
The state has a long history of troubled technology projects. The latest failure was cancellation in March of the billion-dollar California Court Case Management System (CCMS) after the state had expended $500 million. CCMS was to replace 70 different systems already in place—many of which cannot talk to each—and result in a single system for all 58 Superior Courts while enabling the public to e-file documents, access information and make payments via the internet.
–Ken Broder
To Learn More:
Overhaul of State Government Payroll System at Risk of Collapse (by Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times)
State Controller’s $370 Million Payroll System Issues Erroneous State Employee Checks, Falls Behind Schedule (again) (by John Thomas Flynn, TechLeader.tv)
Despite String of Problem Projects, Firm Continues to Win State Work (by Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times)
It's Court v. Court after Demise of Judicial Computer System (by Ken Broder, AllGov California)