While Texas is in drought, the bad news floodgates have opened even wider at HHSC with a further state report about inept and costly contract mismanagment. This time with AT&T.
Ballooned from $1 million to $110 million
Today, the Dallas Morning News jumped on the recent media bandwagon with a story about the newly released State Auditor’s report that outlines huge cost overruns for HHSC on an AT&T contract.
The initial $1 million contract in 2007 ballooned into $48 million by 2008 and it was renewed just last year at a cost of $110 million to Texas taxpayers. Nobody is sure apparently what is “being spent under the contract.”
Two former AT&T employees oversaw contract
Not only were there huge cost overruns, the State Auditor was critical of the fact that “two state workers who formerly worked for AT&T oversaw the contract,” according to the paper.
Per the Morning News story:
Two state workers who formerly worked for AT&T oversaw the contract. The commission’s initial contract manager failed to disclose on conflict of interest forms that he or she formerly worked for AT&T, the audit said. In the state’s evaluation of bids, the initial contract manager’s scores apparently were more favorable to AT&T than those of seven other evaluators, the audit said. Six commission employees involved with the procurement didn’t sign a required conflict of interest form. For 19 employees involved in the bid evaluation or management of the contract, the commission could not produce required paperwork showing they agreed not to disclose sensitive information about the bid process.
Joins Xerox and 21CT
AT&T now joins 21CT and Xerox in the big leagues of those state contractors who have come under scrutiny in their work for HHSC.