Did Wisconsin Recently Annex Minneapolis? (Madison: contractors, cost, store)

[moving123456]

Don't they have a skyline of their own to post?



http://cfis.wi.gov/

[Slig]

That is unbelievable. Somebody needs to call them and say something.

[scrapperoni]

They already know.

kstp.com - Wis. state website features wrong skyline

[Camden Northsider]

LOL - the website was created/ authorized by the WI Government Accountability Board, which paid a vendor $1M to create the website - you'd think for that kind of money, the vendor could have chartered their own helicopter and professional photographers to take some nice aerials of Madison or Milwaukee's skylines.

[moving123456]

That is a terrible looking website for one million dollars. It looks like the Connecticut company reposted the job to a site like rentacoder or elance for a couple hundred dollars, hired a random web designer with the cheapest bid, then pocketed the difference.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by moving123456

That is a terrible looking website for one million dollars. It looks like the Connecticut company reposted the job to a site like rentacoder or elance for a couple hundred dollars, hired a random web designer with the cheapest bid, then pocketed the difference.

The site does look bad. The first objective of software development is not pretty pictures and user interface, but clearly they could have used a more appropriate placeholder photo. Sounds like the fuctionality is related to tracking expenditures and keeping them in check. For a multi billion dollar budget, 1 million is not out of line to keep track of the rest of the pie assuming it does it well.

[bostoner]

Originally Posted by moving123456

That is a terrible looking website for one million dollars.

Agreed. They could've paid one of the local kids $50 to design a better website than that.

[kuan]

I'm glad we annexed WI!

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Clifford63

The site does look bad. The first objective of software development is not pretty pictures and user interface, but clearly they could have used a more appropriate placeholder photo. Sounds like the fuctionality is related to tracking expenditures and keeping them in check. For a multi billion dollar budget, 1 million is not out of line to keep track of the rest of the pie assuming it does it well.

My impression is that it is solely for tracking and reporting on Wisconsin campaign finances and expenditures, not the whole pie of government spending. Although you would need a pretty well-developed database software for storing, tracking, and reporting campaign finance information over a number of years, it does seem like a pretty niche item to be spending $1M on. I am currently working on a project that will comprehensively store all client and program information for multiple organizations representing 500+ employees working in hundreds of programs that collectively serve tens of thousands of individuals/ families each year - we reviewed proposals from numerous vendors representing the "best of the best" in this type of software buildout, and the vendor we went with cost roughly the same as the above WI system, albeit our project expenses will be divied out to all participating organizations over the course of 3 years. So, maybe the cost isn't exorbitant, but it's not great and I wouldn't imagine the system would need to be too complex for this type of thing....but it's probably too much to ask to expect any type of innovation or cost savings from govt employees.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

My impression is that it is solely for tracking and reporting on Wisconsin campaign finances and expenditures, not the whole pie of government spending. Although you would need a pretty well-developed database software for storing, tracking, and reporting campaign finance information over a number of years, it does seem like a pretty niche item to be spending $1M on. I am currently working on a project that will comprehensively store all client and program information for multiple organizations representing 500+ employees working in hundreds of programs that collectively serve tens of thousands of individuals/ families each year - we reviewed proposals from numerous vendors representing the "best of the best" in this type of software buildout, and the vendor we went with cost roughly the same as the above WI system, albeit our project expenses will be divied out to all participating organizations over the course of 3 years. So, maybe the cost isn't exorbitant, but it's not great and I wouldn't imagine the system would need to be too complex for this type of thing....but it's probably too much to ask to expect any type of innovation or cost savings from govt employees.

State has major issues hiring talent. The Governor makes about 120K, and most jobs are set at a percentace of this.

Top technical talent brings 100-150K in private sector without all the politics. Very little incentive for them to work for less money in a undesirable environment.

One way around this is by using contractors or consultants. I did a "project" for the state a few years back. It was a profound waste of taxpayer money.