Sacramento County has saved a total of $4.4 million in operational and labor costs over the last two years due to the implementation of a custom-designed computer system for the Department of Revenue Recovery, according to the county.
"The system has allowed us to reduce staffing by 44 percent and will begin saving about $5 million annually from this year forward," said in a press release Connie Ahmed, director of the Department of Revenue Recovery.
The system is not without problems, as cited in an independent report by Eclipse Solutions. The firm was hired to do a performance and security analysis, among other things, which outlines several technical deficiencies that need to be addressed.
"The independent verification project provided us with a valuable insight into the technical aspect of the project," said Rami Zakaria, chief information officer. "We are developing a plan to address the deficiencies identified in the report and training County staff to support the application."
Eclipse Solutions was also asked to identify ways to reduce ongoing support. The report identifies ways to improve the quality and security of data and calls for plans to transfer full operations and maintenance to in-house department staff.
The system has been up and running since February 2009. The county says the project is moving forward as planned and within budget, approximately $11.2 million for two years of development and $10 million in expenses.
