Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, November 9, 2010,
Item 7
Item number 7, planning and budget headed this way?
as soon as somebody is here from planning and budget we will call up item number 7.
>> going back to item number 7, consider and take appropriate action on budget amendments, transfers and discussion items.
>> judge, I -- the question that I had on that, really it's something I looked at and I’m just trying to see how this fits into the scheme of things as far as what we're looking at as far as the involvement level of this particular system, lead systems engineer person that we're looking to hire, f.t.e.
to deal with refit situations.
my question is have they run through the gaunt let?
I mean, what will be the necessary criterion to bring this person on board to make sure what we're getting is what we want?
I have seen from this court demonstrations in my opinion that some of the f.t.e.'s that I think we've brought on board in my opinion aren't meeting the mustard.
I just have to be frank with you, because of the fact because of what situation here in now with a lot of things that I don't look at favorably as far as when it comes to our technology here in Travis County.
so I’m beginning to question, as I’ve questioned in the past -- this is nothing new.
I’ve been very, very tight on this thing, on this issue from day one.
and I want to make sure that what we're getting is what we really want and it does go through -- and it goes to the proper -- whatever criterion that is is that's established to make sure that this leed person is what we should be having.
and I don't know.
I don't know.
this leed system is very critical in the whole scheme of things, but is it really what we want and who is actually setting the standard of judgment on this particular individual that we're going to look to hire.
and we are having a critical problem with as far as of the people I think that was hired in the past to do a certain task and have them deliver.
>> well, the people that will be interviewing and selecting this person will be the management in its and the be fit team.
so as they go through the process to make the final decision on which product that we're going to use for the erp system for be fit, then that team will also participate in the selection of this individual.
>> like I said, this is a very critical deal and it's a leed system engineer.
technology person that has a lot of responsibility.
and I’m not too comfortable with some things.
>> that's why we want to be sure that the be fit people are involved in the process, that we've selected the right individual with the right credentials to support that product.
>> I do share the Commissioner's concern with regard to our inability with our current staffing to serve this function.
I do note that we have a system network operator, division manager at 113,000 that's on agenda item number 9.
we probably do need to take a closer look at whether or not we need to recalibrate the skill set within its if we're -- if we're adding on top.
>>
>> [inaudible - no mic].
>> when we put together the budget and getting through almost to this point, what we did with it is we only put one person on there because we really didn't know what system or what kind of technology that we were going to buy.
so we know we will need a systems administrator.
>> turn the microphone toward you.
>> sorry.
we know we will need a systems administrator, and that really will be the key administrator for be fit with the new technology in it.
we didn't ask for that when we asked for the rest of the positions because we really didn't know what the technology would be.
so this indeed will be a new position with new technologies.
the people that are working on hte have totally different skill sets, and just so that you remember, our goal with be fit was to convert one year's data to keep everything else on hte.
so the people that are keeping ht -- not active like this, but nonetheless working and in data there will still be working on that.
so there will probably be some retraining in it as well as there will be retraining in our office on systems. But this position would be a new position with additional duties.
the reason that we're putting it on now is that we are very close to bringing you a recommendation.
and so that you will have an idea and we will have an exact knowledge of the technology that we're using.
one of the things is that Travis County is not really using the new technologies.
and this will be a big new technology.
I mean, we're dabling in it, but we're not using anything of the complexity of the new system.
so it is our recommendation, we helped put this job description together that this is a very essential position.
it's really the it's part.
remember that the way we looked at this system is the way we're looking at hte now and that is everything from the wall out it took care of.
the software part and the database my department took care of.
we're still going to do that.
we will have database people, but we know need the walls out people and this would be the person that administers it.
did I say that right?
>> that's correct.
>> susan, I don't disagree with anything that you're saying.
I really don't.
but I’m concerned about being burned.
as sophisticated as the it system is, and it is a very old system.
it's been around since I’ve been here --
>> 20 years.
>> 20 years.
that's a long time for a system to be -- especially dealing with the financial -- the financial obligations, the accounting and all the other things that that system has to deal with.
I understand that there's a need for probably a change, but I want to make sure that in the conversions and all these other things and all the problems that I’ve seen with conversions that haven't been done properly, it just puts up a red flag for me.
and it's hard for me to bite off into situations that raise such red flags because of past practices that haven't demonstrated what they should have been.
hold on.
>> I’m sorry.
>> and of course it needs to be done.
there's no doubt about it, but my concern is the format so how it's to be done.
and again, operating this particular arena in an area of the county when it doesn't have an executive manager or vacant position that really needs to befeld is something else that -- to be filled is something else that I’m really not comfortable with a lot of things going on that have no leadership.
so I’m concerned about that.
>> and we absolutely share your concern.
and I think that the way that we have designed this project, and remember it took us three years to do a needs assessment.
we did a comprehensive needs assessment on the erp system.
and part of that when an analysis of the data and the conversion.
and one of those decisions was we will be able to map through to hte, but not take all that data and put -- because we'll have totally new account numbers.
and move that into the new system.
what we figured is it was way too expensive for the way too expensive for the county to be able to do it for the benefit we got.
so we have hte people on our staff, it does.
we will still be able to handle that.
our data is in clean shape in order to convert.
one of the problems with facts is a data conversion problem.
and that data conversion does not lie with it.
it lies with the functional department.
the data belongs to them and they need to get it cleaned up, just like I need to take responsibility for the financial data, once I’ve got that ready, and it's on the database and it's moving over, I expect they're going to take care of this system.
so I absolutely share your concern on this project.
we have done everything that I know and y'all gave me good staff to work on this.
I think we're in good shape with the conversion.
I absolutely understand your concern.
I have the same concern.
this is an absolute essential position in my opinion.
it will be -- we've got a person right now working as backfill like we do with the other departments with it, but it's just one person.
that's what we have for the new system.
and there will be more down the line.
one more person is going to do it, but this is a key position for them to get in line and it's my opinion we need to start recruiting because in just a matter of weeks we will be coming to you with a recommendation and in a matter of a very few months we will have software and hardware online arriving at the county.
>> I can support this on this condition, and I’ll tell you what they are.
the first condition is that there has -- if this person -- if the court decides to hire this person,, there has to be a reporting position to this court or to someone in authority to let us track the performance and seeing how the conversion and all these other processes work.
otherwise I don't want to see it -- to be another situation whereby the conversion comes in and we are behind schedule.
because that's what happened on a lot of things.
we got so far behind in schedule until we were not able to recover.
>> right.
>> we still haven't recovered.
so that's my concern.
if it's something that's a red flag go up that it's not on schedule, the conversion is not working properly, then at that time we need to come by and make the adjustments necessary to make everything on schedule within the conversion process of those databases.
>> one of the things we asked of the vendors when we were evaluating these systems is that they recommend an implementation plan that they think will work.
and we put a rough one together.
you know that when we put out the r.f.p., but we thought really we want to know from their experience what they think will work and then with we did extensive interviewing of users to ask them for what worked, what didn't, what time frames are reasonable.
and we have that information.
and I am absolutely as interested as you are to get this thing on time and up and working.
we will absolutely give you a progress report on that.
we've been negotiating a lot of that as confidential information now that we're dealing with vendors.
very soon we'll be out of that.
we will really update all members of the court as to how that is progressing and there will be hitches.
you know that.
you don't bring a system up like that with no problems. But I think we've done everything that we can.
you've given us the resources that we've needed.
we've gotten cooperation from all the other departments working together.
the county attorney's office has gotten assistance as well with this contract.
I’ve done everything I think and -- I think we're going to give you a good product.
we absolutely will update you.
no problem.
>> I would like to add one thing in and that is that a complete needs analysis was done up front, unlike with facts.
and that alone has more to do with the be fit project being successful as compared to the facts project.
>> so we anticipated the -- needing this position and funded it in the be fit reserve?
>> yes, sir.
>> it's no in the agenda item.
>> it should be.
>> what's in the agenda item is budget amendments, transfers and discussion.
move approval.
>> second.
>> his eyebrows are going up.
>> judge, I hope in your motion it takes consideration of what I asked as far as the progress report on that.
I don't want to get behind schedule.
any more discussion?
all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 11:00 PM
