The Maine State House is seen at sunrise, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in Augusta, Maine.
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday establishing how nearly half a billion dollars in pandemic stimulus for local governments will be distributed. The measure also sets accountability standards to ensure the money is spent the way Congress intended.
Finance Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa said the bill deals with American Rescue Plan funds for municipalities and counties. Some of the money will go directly to governmental units, but some will come to the state to redistribute. The bill gives her agency the flexibility to deal with any strings attached in the allocation to the local governments.
It takes two to tango, says SaaS vendor
Lindsay Clark Wed 14 Apr 2021 // 10:49 UTC Share
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Maine has accused Workday of showing no accountability for its part in a flawed process to replace the US state s HR system.
Following a request for an official review into the $54.6m project, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability has published correspondence that Workday would almost certainly rather remain private.
In a May 2020 letter to the SaaS vendor about the replacement of the state s ageing HR and finance system, Kirsten Figueroa, commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said the project last year missed two go-live dates.
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With the launch just months away, Maine’s finance agency conducted test runs in early 2020 of a state-of-the-art but costly payroll program slated to replace a decades-old system that state officials said was “held together with duct tape and paperclips.”
The test results did not inspire confidence.
More than 50 percent of the payroll tests contained errors – a major red flag, given that that system was supposed to begin handling the paychecks and benefits for 13,000 state employees starting on April 1 of that year. The subsequent decision to delay the launch for a second time was a turning point that eventually led to the state’s decision to cancel the contract and seek $22 million back from the company, Workday Inc.
Finance commissioner details breakdowns in $34 million software system pressherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pressherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Legislature’s oversight panel expects answers about failed contract for human resources software
The state s administrative and financial services commissioner will appear before the committee Friday to answer questions about a $22 million contract dispute with Workday, a Silicon Valley vendor.
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AUGUSTA A legislative committee will continue its inquiry Friday into the Mills administration’s effort to reclaim $22 million from a Silicon Valley software vendor in a dispute over a contract to upgrade the state’s outdated human resources management and payroll system.
Commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services Kirsten Figueroa
Joe Phelan/ Kennebec Journal
Kirsten Figueroa, commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, will appear before the Government Oversight Committee to provide information and answer questions about the contractual dispute with Workday Inc., which was hired in 2018 to do the software s