×

Fiasco?

State accounting system frustrating lawmakers

West Virginia taxpayers already have spent about $150 million on the wvOasis computer accounting system, and the meter still is running. One might expect that for that amount of money, the Oasis system would make coffee for its human handlers each morning, in addition to dealing efficiently with just about any task assigned to it.

But no, that is not the case, some in state government have said, for some time now. A legislative audit released Sunday insists Oasis is missing certain payroll functions that were available on the computers it replaced.

As a result, the Division of Personnel has had to hire three new employees to process the state payroll, the audit states. It adds that nine areas of “lost functionality” — that is, things the older computers could do that Oasis cannot — have been identified.

Some legislators are growing very frustrated about the Oasis system, which relies on a supercomputer. “I’m so sick and tired of hearing about this Oasis thing,” state Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, told a reporter.

If Oasis is a fiasco, it would be far from the first involving technology and state government. Many state residents remember “Routergate,” in which officials wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on computer network routers more complex than needed.

But state Auditor J.B. McCuskey does not seem to have hopped on the anti-Oasis bandwagon. He has noted that if the Division of Personnel is having such extreme problems, it failed to inform his office or the Enterprise Resource Planning Board, which handles Oasis.

And McCuskey adds that he believes the system can generate enough savings to pay for itself, if state agencies work together to use Oasis efficiently.

So, what’s the problem? McCuskey blames “general bureaucratic nonsense” and reluctance among some in government to change. “There’s power struggles in every level of government,” he said.

McCuskey does not have the proverbial dog in the fight about the expensive computerized accounting system that has caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth in Charleston.

The current auditor was not in state government when the decision was made to purchase Oasis. In fact, early in his tenure, he expressed some concerns about the system. That gives him at least some credibility in dismissing complaints by others about the system.

Lawmakers are right to be upset about Oasis. Either the state spent a lot of money on a lemon or some in state government are determined not to make the system work.

Neither possibility is acceptable. Legislators should take the time to get to the bottom of the controversy and take corrective action.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today