I thought the water billing system itself was a public works project to employ folks that were no longer needed for the Y2K public works project.

I know that the DMV might have reason to spend a little extra so that police can have near instant access to the latest and greatest data. But water -- water billing on a monthly or quarterly cycle – seems rather straight forward.

But what do I know . . . we could always substitute labor for computers (as a public works project) just like with the PERS folks for calculating pension stuff. Each new twist in the law adds a new job or two just to fix the programs for doing what the computers do – create job opportunities.

If they ever figure out the mess they could always do like Housing Connections (City of Portland developed service for matching renters to landlords) and go to the national marketplace to offer their unique program to other governments for a fee. If the system works then this means that there will be no follow-on consulting business to fix the bugs.

It is working as intended. Vera just needs to plan ahead for the next phase . . . and assure obsolescence or failure. Success is not an option!

So how many of you out there in the private sector have ever, and I mean ever, had an IT (information technology) system implementation achieved on-time and on-budget?

Answer that question first before you flame me, please.

I was invited by commissioner Saltzman to review the RFP (request for proposal) for the replacement system . Keep in mind the first system never worked, and cost the ratepayers upwards of twenty million. The city used the same selection criteria and methodology for the second system as well as the RFP itself being virtually identical to the first. Same process, same result. I'm sure Saltzman is happy to have that piece of the puzzle moved elsewhere, because I understand they are already encountering problems with the new system. Hopefully, this time they will be smart enough not to turn it on until they have done a full parallel test... something that was not done under Sten's watch.

Good link to election problems and legal challenges including court documents:

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/key-litigation.html

That's a rather small comfort factor, isn't it, Dave? Not to turn another bad system on too soon?

These stories are almost unbelievable and a testament to the Katz years. Old Town crime rate, and right next to the Pearl District. How perfect is that.

The Oregonian did a great job covering for (not covering) Erik Sten before his last re-election. I would never forgive either of them for that. That water dept. fiasco cost me & my neighbors plenty. The city does not know who it serves. The elitism that separates Portland government and agency people from working people is a chasm as wide and as close as that between Pearl and Burnside.

Vera Katz - I think the cost of the Streetcar alone could have nearly wiped out crime in Old Town. The budget for the car could have put a round-the-clock police officer on every, what, every two square blocks?

hilsy - The Water Bureau and DMV over-runs are insane overruns that COULDN'T happen in the private sector We don't have the tax-payers ready to cover our butts to the tune of $15-million - or 4-times the original amount - whichever comes first. I forget the original amounts and X-fold increases, please add them if you can type the amounts without having a stroke or heart-attack.