State of Conn. still in negotiations to hire y2k contractor

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We may have a butt-kickin' hoops team here in the Nutmeg State, but it seems we've got some real bozos in charge of the state's computer systems.

Associated Press story in today's Waterbury Republican-American, pg. 3A, (sorry, no link), headline: "Union opposes Y2K contract."

Basically, state workers are complaining that that the state is hiring private contractors to fix y2k rather than letting them work overtime.

Some quotes from the article: "The state...is hammering out a contract with Texas-based Electronic Data Systems..."

"Although those negotiations have not been made public..."

The AP story focuses on who should do the job, the cost of the work, wasting taxpayer money, etc.

But there is no mention of the most glaring and startling fact: they are still in negotiations to hire someone with only 9 months to go until Jan. 1st!!!! (Much less before the state hits FY 2000.)

The state has been doing work on y2k, and the article does not specify exactly what EDS would be hired to do (testing, maybe?)

But still, what do these guys think, that fixing y2k is like changing an oil filter??!!

Anybody else see this kind of thing in your own home state??

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), March 31, 1999

Answers

As you know, CT is going to miss today's deadline 03/31/1999. If you go to their website, State of CT Y2K - DOIT you can view the progress report. On the other hand if you visitthis site you can view the new completion date, which I believe is when CT begins its fiscal year. Nowhere, on the DOIT site have I found a reference to EDS.

On the NASIRE report in article 1 states: "Embedded systems and PC exposures not fully known--may drive total costs higher." Given the huge bureaucracy that exists here and in other states, it is my belief that by the time they get the contracts negotiated and signed we should be well into the fourth quarter of 1999.

-- Steve King (parse@nospam.earthlink.net), March 31, 1999.


Doing what government does best !! Unfortunately this time there is a deadline cast in concrete.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), March 31, 1999.


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