State might scrap DMV computers

Flawed system for registering cars cost $11 million

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 14, 2007 at midnight

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More Colorado Government

Dismayed lawmakers learned Monday that the state might have to scrap a new but flawed computer system for vehicle registrations that already has cost taxpayers nearly $11 million.

If the state has to start over nearly from scratch - rather than just making changes to the new system - it could cost taxpayers an additional $10 million to $15 million, lawmakers were told.

Much of the information about the state's troubled computer projects already has been made public.

But Monday's meeting offered members of the House and Senate finance committees - in a rare summer gathering - a chance to quiz officials on the situation.

Consultant William Browning - whose firm was hired to review what happened with the registration system - said other states, including Utah, Idaho and North Dakota, have managed to complete projects on time and under budget.

But Colorado, he said, has a "terrible reputation" for handling its computer problems.

The committee heard from Gov. Bill Ritter's new technology wizard, Mike Locatis, who has been given unprecedented authority to oversee the state's computer systems. The panel also heard from Roxanne Huber, the director of the Department of Revenue, which oversees the Motor Vehicle Division.

Locatis outlined the efforts he has undertaken since Ritter took over in January from Gov. Bill Owens.

As for the Colorado State Titling and Registration System, or CSTARS, Huber said the state is still assessing how to proceed. She said her department and the attorney general are talking to the vendor, Avanade, a subsidiary of Accenture, a company that worked on two other troubled state computer projects.

Company officials were unavailable for comment.

Huber put CSTARS on hold in April. Among its problems: It could not calcuate fees, which then had to be done manually; and the work that a motor vehicle clerk could do on one screen in the current system now needed four or five screens.

Huber hired Browning's consulting firm, North Highland Co., this spring to review the project. The firm in July released a scathing report outlining the missteps made by the state of Colorado.

Among them: Colorado's request for proposals was flawed and ambiguous, and the state in 2002 chose a vendor with limited qualifications and quality assurance issues, according to the report.

"I suspect the failure rests on the shoulder of the legislature," said Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, who wondered how lawmakers can do a better job in issuing legislative directions.

The state's other flawed systems

• CBMS: Colorado Benefits Management System, developed by EDS at a cost of $223 million. It fouled up welfare benefits and left recipients without critical cash. The federal government demanded an $11 million sanction for money that CBMS incorrectly paid out in food stamps.

• Genesis: Developed by Accenture under a $40.8 million contract with the state Department of Labor to track unemployment insurance. The system had a 20 percent error rate, and the two sides agreed to cancel the contract. Colorado paid Accenture $27 million.

• SCORE: Statewide Colorado Registration and Election system, developed by Accenture under a $10.5 million contract. When Accenture missed a federal deadline for completion of the new statewide voter registration database, the secretary of state canceled the contract.

• ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning system was developed by SAP at a cost of $38 million to track Colorado Department of Transportation finances, personnel and project management. About 1,000 employees had errors in their payroll checks last winter. Alterations to the system are ongoing.

The state's other flawed systems