Costs top half-million in attempts to implement five-year old software

Whitman County had long suffered from an outdated computerized accounting software.

In 2005, commissioners were told their accounting system was out of date by Bev Divine, information manager.

“We purchased them in 1991, and I have been holding my breath every day, hoping it holds up,” Divine was quoted as saying in the Oct. 20, 2005, edition of the Gazette.

That same year, the purchase of a new software package from Michigan-based New World Systems for $331,600 was supposed to solve the problem.

That system was never installed. The county is still using the 1991 system.

Accounting software is used to run the general ledger of the county, including claims, payroll, inventory, annual reports, human resources and other financial programs. The existing 1991 system has been blamed for glitches that have thrown the county’s books out of whack.

Divine said in 2005 she expected conversion to the new system could “take a full year.”

Five years later the New World system has yet to be put into action.

“We’ve got hundreds of thousands dollars into this thing, and what do we have to show for it?” asked Commissioner Pat O’Neill.

O’Neill questioned Divine on the progress of New World during last week’s regular meeting of county commissioners.

He took particular aim at the costs paid trying to implement the software.

Since the purchase of the New World system in 2005, the county has paid $399,622 trying to implement the system.

That total includes $151,265 for software updates, including a $41,000 payment in January of this year to get the latest version of the software.

Also included is $28,788 the county paid to New World employees to cover travel, parking, lodging and food expenses while they serviced the county’s system.

“We keep throwing money down a rat hole,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. “And we’re not even getting a rat.”

Most of the expenses came in trying to get the software to comply with the unique requirements in Washington’s budget, accounting and reporting system, or BARS.

Partch last week said commissioners in office when the software was purchased were led to believe it would suit the county’s needs.

The Gazette article from 2005 quotes commissioners praising Divine’s department for their “diligence” in finding the right program for the county.

Divine told the Gazette even she was led to believe by New World salesmen the system would meet Washington accounting standards.

“This was a countywide decision to buy this product,” Divine told the Gazette last week. “Nobody knew it didn’t comply with BARS. Even New World said it was their fault.”

Divine even had to enlist the help of Prosecutor Denis Tracy in 2007 to get New World to modify its system to accommodate BARS accounting.

Commissioners last week voted to replace Divine as the contact for county officials when the new software is finally installed.

Various department heads had trouble communicating with the finance department, according to a study of the county’s government performed by WSU last year.