Sounds like the average outsourced project to me. A nice low bid, an overrun budget, and no choice but to pay the talented people you were trying to avoid paying as high-priced consultants to come fix the mess built by the contractors...

Can the City - and the Oregonian - give it a rest with the tram analogy? OMG TEH TRAM! The two are not the same. The Tram experienced cost overruns, but at the end of the day the City paid $8.5M of the $55M budget. The tram works better than intended, and met the City's design intent. In fact, if the City had not insisted on maintaining the design vision for the project, it would have cost much less. And, the operating budget for the tram is far less than what was originally estimated.

The computer system, on the other hand, is triple the cost, behind schedule, and not delivering the original features promised. Plus, it appears that the City will be spending more time and money than anticipated just working with their software. If the tram were really like the software, it would have one car, with doors that don't close, running on one cable, and getting close to, but not really all the way to, OHSU.

I might use this report as a case study! Study project management, kids, or this could happen to you...

Fiscal mismanagement? I am so shocked. Yet another reason why I will never vote for any measure that raises my property taxes.

Was the payroll software developed internally or contracted outside? I think a lot of contractors see 'government contract' as 'feed at trough indefinitely'. Of course I've worked on more than one project were the clients JUST WON'T STOP CHANGING THEIR GODDAMN MIND ALL THE TIME.

shit..there's 350 of us out of work (used to work at BDS, and yes....I DID work, and plenty busy), we are all on unemployment now....the 33 million could've kept us at jobs...i wouldn't be losing my house....etc...there's a bunch of "untouchables" in upper management despite the ineptitude displayed not only here but other projects....

And Sam Adams says, "It's frustrating."

No, it's not frustrating, Sam. Frustrated is what I feel when the bus doesn't come on schedule. This is outrageous, ridiculous, disgusting, and stupid. 70 percent of this project was funded by debt that we'll be paying off for decades. Thanks, city government! Watch people take this out on the school district next year when pissed off voters vote down the bond measure PPS will try to wrangle out of us. Way to think long term.