Union Lauds Auditor General's Report On Procurement Reforms, But Says It Only 'Scratches the Surface'

SEIU Local 668 says Administration's rejection of suggested reforms costs PA taxpayers millions

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The union representing state and county employees in Pennsylvania who work with the software programs that were the subject of an audit of Pennsylvania state information systems by Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that Wagner's audit was only the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to waste in state government.

Kathy Jellison, the President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 668, praised the efforts of Auditor General Jack Wagner in recommending changes in the procurement procedures that the Rendell administration used to award state contracts totaling $592 million to handle information processing across various state departments to a single vendor -- Deloitte Consulting LLP.

"Auditor General Wagner's efforts have validated what our Union has been saying for years, but they only scratch the surface," said Jellison. "In addition to the lack of transparency and the sole-source contracting that the Rendell Administration used to, in their own words, 'reward' Deloitte for questionable performance, they also ended up buying software that doesn't work and is costing the Commonwealth additional millions of lost dollars in waste, inefficiencies, and reduced productivity."

According to the Auditor General's report, Deloitte Consulting LLP received a total of $592 million in funding to provide information technology for state government. Union members are the state employees who have to use these computer programs, and the Union has been saying for years that the software does not work.

"Many of the Deloitte programs can best be described as 'unreliable' and the rest are either unnecessary or of limited value," said Jellison. "These software programs have had many technical problems that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars -- in addition to the wasted millions the Auditor General found in the procurement process."

"You would think that one benefit to having a single vendor might be having software programs that communicate with each other across all state departments," said Jellison. "However, that one benefit doesn't even apply here, because Deloitte's programs do not 'talk' to each other between departments, which results in huge waste and inefficiencies."

Saying the Union shares Wagner's frustration with this Administration, Jellison said that Local 668 has made suggestions that would save the state over $1 billion a year and still provide vital state services.

"These suggestions, made by our Union members, would improve the delivery of quality services to the taxpayers, while saving money and reducing fraud," said Jellison. "Yet the reaction we have gotten from the Administration is the same as Auditor General Wagner got -- they think everything is fine the way it is."

"The vigilance and courage of our Local 668 member 'whistle blowers' brought the problems with the Deloitte contract to light in the first place," Jellison continued. "The Administration chooses to ignore those on the front lines who faithfully do the job every day."