Editorial: Grand jury right to caution county on software move

Marin Independent Journal Editorial -

A MISTAKE that cost county taxpayers an estimated $30 million should be enough incentive for the Marin Board of Supervisors to make sure the error is not repeated.

As the county looks into setting up a new financial software system, the 2012-13 Marin County Civil Grand Jury is reminding supervisors of the county's costly bungle in 2006, when it paid top dollar for software that was too souped-up for its needs and after months of planning it failed to train county staff how to use it.

County department heads had to ask for additional staff to handle the work the software created and, after generating a mountain of mistakes, the county had to hire special consultants and staff to unravel the financial mess and correct its ledgers.

Now, county executives are considering building a new system that's supposed to be a better fit for the county's needs.

The 2006 system has become too costly to maintain.

At this juncture, the grand jury has prepared a report, reminding county supervisors what went wrong in 2006 and what they should do to avoid making the same mistake.

At the top of the list, they want county supervisors to be more involved in the decision and implementation.

Supervisors had trusted top county staff in the planning, purchase and implementation of the 2006 system. They really didn't get involved until well after problems, complaints and costs were getting to the point where one county official compared it to a fiscal jet in a tailspin.

In fact, for months, supervisors steered clear of the problem, trusting staffers' reassurances that it was a small bureaucratic pothole, not a gaping sinkhole that would consume millions of dollars and leave the county unable to close its books for three years.

Supervisors allowed themselves to be kept out of the loop — willingly, intentionally or benignly — until it was too late.

This time, the grand jury says the two supervisors on the planning team should not be occasional observers, but make sure the mistakes of 2006 aren't repeated. Supervisors need to be more involved in the front end of the process to make sure taxpayers are getting something tha works rather than rings up costs.

That includes monthly public updates on the progress and costs of the project.

The grand jury has done a public service in providing supervisors with a well-reasoned reminder.