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(Flowers, A.)

No response received:

To: Byron Marshall <byron.marshall@richmondgov.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 5:58 AM
Subject: Marshall – City Computer System

Dear Mr. Marshall,
Have you informed city council that the city’s computer system is at capacity?
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Sharon O. Judkins recently said that planning commission audio files are “difficult to accommodate on the ‘Boards and Commissions’  website  for a variety of reasons, including potential impact to server performance, client-side download issues with older browsers, and storage capacity.”
Thank you,
copy: Council

Jones, Dwight Jones 04

An audit requested by the Richmond City Council of an $18 million information-technology system project has struggled to get off the ground because city officials have dragged their feet in providing necessary access to the system and interviews with workers, the city auditor said.

Dalal said the auditor’s office has access to all those records according to the city charter, adding that his work has been stymied by “stalling tactics” from the administration, including meetings that were postponed for weeks and documentation that has not been supplied. Link

When we asked for a more detailed explanation of that money we were told that $117,696 dollars of that cost was interest on the overdue account.   Link

The contractor’s claims caused the audit that has been underway for some time but a little over a week ago the head of the city finance, Sharon Judkins, wrote a memo asking that it be halted.

The Richmond City Council on Tuesday requested an audit of an $18 million information technology project that has been the subject of allegations of waste and mismanagement by a former consultant….  timesdispatch.com

….Though Mackey told council members the company did not agree with Bashy’s complaints, he said in an interview outside the council chambers that he couldn’t say whether Bashy’s allegations had any merit….  timesdispatch.com

Richmond City Council members are asking the city’s auditor to investigate allegations in a letter sent to the city by a former consultant who claims waste and abuse of power in Richmond’s Information Technology Department….The concerns are whether the contract was procured properly, whether it was implemented properly, how much the project cost and how much was spent, whether the program was implemented properly and whether it followed policies, procedures and regulations….The letter follows recent public stumbles by Jones’ administration….  timesdispatch.com

….I’ve never seen worse….millions of dollars in discrepancies….officials want to delay the project….perhaps only 10% of the program has actually been installed….  nbc12.com

….$18 million dollar project….totally out of control….miscalculation of overtime pay….never witnessed such excessive waste….  wtvr.com

Award amount: $1,190,204.42

RFP H10237-1 Backup/Recovery-Archival and Electronic Discovery Solution

Effective: May 23, 2011

IP DataSystems, Inc.

6021 University Blvd., Suite 420

Ellicott, MD. 21043

via Procurement Awards: RFP H10237-1 Backup/Recovery-Archival and Electronic Discovery Solution.

Last summer, the Richmond City Council aide at the center of a City Hall scandal was told to work through the man she had accused of harassment that spring, according to a series of e-mails obtained by Richmond magazine.

Richmond magazine attempted to obtain other e-mails between Hathcock and Walle during the period in question through a Freedom of Information Act request to the City of Richmond. The cost to fulfill that request, provided by Annette Flowers, the city’s director of information technology, was $2,288.64. Flowers said that the city’s e-mail archival database is not a searchable system and that the search would take two employees four work days to complete.

On Jan. 11, Jackson sent another letter to City Council advising them of his recommendation that his office appoint an outside investigator to the task of looking into Walle’s complaint, but that the investigation be undertaken not so much with the intention of determining wrongdoing by Council members or staff, “but it should instead be conducted in the context of investigating the specific complaints made by Ms. Walle in order to prepare a defense against her charges.”

via richmondmagazine.com CHRIS DOVI