 
What does it benefit taxpayers to live in the computer era if governments are operating on archaic systems? That is the question being posed by Ulster County”™s first comptroller, who recently released an audit that found Ulster County government is operating with an archaic financial accounting infrastructure that is not compatible with today”™s standard software.
The financial management system of Ulster County is “Seriously inadequate and flawed,” according to county comptroller Elliott Auerbach, who took office in January as the first comptroller ever elected in the county under a new charter approved by voters in 2007. He released his first quarterly audit May 11.
The comptroller is obligated by the charter to do a quarterly audit of county finances and financial management, but Auerbach said his office found an accurate audit was extremely difficult because Ulster County is still using DOS-era technology from a software package purchased in 1995 and installed in 1997.
“Its not the physical hardware, its the software that is really inadequate,” said Auerbach. “It has handicapped not just the comptroller”™s office, but many departments. It does not have the ability to integrate with universally accepted programs. For example, it is not Microsoft compatible; it”™s not able to be integrated into 21st-century programs.”
For 2009, Ulster County has an operating budget of $345 million. It is the largest employer in the county, with more than 2,000 workers in jobs ranging from correctional officer and sheriff”™s deputy to public health nurse and social service worker to highway department laborer and even seasonal lifeguard.
“The financial management system is inadequate and inappropriate,” wrote Auerbach in the audit summary. “It is important to understand that this is a systems problem not a people problem. We have very capable people in Ulster County spending lots of time compensating for a poor system.”
Auerbach found the county is burdened with five separate payroll accounting systems and does not have the capacity to know, on anything approaching a real-time basis, how much money in the budget had been encumbered and how much remains available.
“The people working in Ulster County government work real hard, but they are working with one hand tied behind their back regarding the financial system and bringing information forward in a timely manner,” said Auerbach.
Ulster County recognized the problem in May 2008, he said, before he and the new county executive were on the job. Both were sworn in January 1 of this year. But despite receiving voluminous responses to an RFP for software packages the county Legislature and executive did not act to upgrade the system.
Auerbach said he did not know what such a package would cost, but noted that the county had a fund balance, or budget surplus at the end of 2008 of approximately $20 million, some of which he believes could have and should have been spent to start the process of modernizing county financial management. He said that once a purchase is made, it will still take at least a year to install the new system and train workers on it.  Â
In one instance of alleged shoddy accounting, a reported $7,000 bottled water bill was said actually to be $17,000. Auerbach said his staff is conducting audits of the county”™s sprawling financial system to see if other errors are ongoing, but said it is slow going with the current software. “We are forced to do what I call pick and shovel work,” Auerbach said, “because we don”™t have the ability yet to point and click.”
Dutchess County purchased a new financial software package in 2006. “Their new software system, has all the bells and whistles common in today”™s world that make information very accessible to every department.” Auerbach said, adding he had contacted their financial officials about the efficacy of the new system.
He said that Ulster County seeks an upgradeable software package and said there are numerous vendors who specialize in providing municipal and county governments with modern financial software and servicing.   Â
Ulster County became somewhat infamous in the early 1990s for its jail project, which was originally budgeted at approximately $50 million for a 400-bed lockup, but which suffered three years of delays that pushed the price to about $100 million.   Â
Asked if the new financial system he seeks could have prevented the debacle, Auerbach said that it would have been one aspect of a prevention plan. He said having a comptroller”™s office in place along with a contract management team, both of which the county now has, would have prevented the jail situation, especially if the upgraded financial software had been in use.
Another potential improvement than and now, he said, would be creation of a county employee whistleblower protection law. “There is little protection now for employees working in a department if they notice an irregularity,” said Auerbach. “We want to ensure that person is protected if they come forward and bring the matter to the attention of the county comptroller or executive.”
He said that in private corporations as well as government, whistleblower protection is “pretty commonplace.”
As comptroller, Auerbach said can only advocate for changes such as a software upgrade or a whistleblower protection law. He said the county executive and county legislature must enact the changes needed or spend the money required to implement the recommendations. He said nothing he is suggesting is beyond basic common sense.
“Looking at this from a business operations standpoint, we should easily be able to know where we are to the dollar on a weekly basis, revenue in and expenses out,” Auerbach said.
