$722M Hand Scanner "Disaster" Has No End in Sight

Seven years after it was supposed to be completed, CityTime has cost NYC $722 million more than its projected price, and still the city continues to sign fat checks to consultants for the now-notorious biometric timecard system. Mayor Blooomberg went so far as to call CityTime a “disaster,” city Comptroller John Liu labeled it a “money pit” and enraged Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia James demanded an immediate investigation, according to the Daily News. "The city should get a partial refund because they were overbilled," she said. But it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.

CityTime was actually supposed to save the city up to $60 million by doing away with the old, easily-scammed punch card system, by which city employees keep track of their hours. But more than a decade after CityTime launched, only a third of city workers use the computerized hand scanners, and the project is way, way over budget.

That’s because about 200 consultants get salaries of $400,000 or more (complete breakdown here). Eleven are paid upwards of $600,000 and for what? "It's a difficult project," said Constantin Stanca, who for more than a decade has collected a salary of over half a million as a development manager for CityTime. A veteran technology manager who once worked for the project questioned him. "In my three decades in the business, I've never seen salary levels like these," he said.

Since the discovery of these wild, uncapped salaries Bloomberg’s been none too positive about the project. (The large pay-outs came as a surprise and originally he didn’t see to know who in his administration was in charge of CityTime.) But he's now making excuses for the mangled undertaking, and a full-stop seems unlikely. "People who worked on this aren't stupid and aren't lazy," said the mayor, when urged by Liu to stop payments to CityTime consultants. "Some projects are so big and the world changes so fast while you're building them, [you realize] maybe that's not a good way to do anything."

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By Sabrina Jaszi in News on March 27, 2010 3:25 PM

Comments [rss]

grizzzly

It's also laughable because this thing isn't any harder to scam than a paper timecard, since there's so many conditions under which the times entered into the system get changed. The only actual solution to time fraud is having an attentive manager who knows what the hell is going on.

starrygordon

All you Bloomberg suckers are getting exactly what you deserve. It's a pity more intelligent people have to live in the same city with you.

Now, go back to whining about the unions.

NycChick

I am sure there is an app for that!

whitecastlerock

It's about progress, not politics

Sommelier

Uhhh... if a woman grows her nails, or has long nails & cuts them, doesn't the scanner fail to realize that it's the same person? Such basic logic, folks.

oefourty

This is one of those truly awesome scams that make you laugh....Russianesque. Hopefully our taxes will rise another 5-10% next year in order to fund (i.e. plug the deficit) for all the hard working people/politicians that make this city so much of a joke.

longacre

If this thing doesn't work by now, it will never work. Time to cut bait, take the pie on the face and start over.

ANGRYGOD11

If Bloomie failed with this project, the real blame belongs with the City Council and the opposition for not keeping track of this. Why should we expect any sitting politician to tell us he/she/they screwed up?

ANGRYGOD11

It must be interesting to be with you on a fishing trip. Do these trips include giant bottles of seltzer?

JacqueMehoff

is this considered a wise "business" decision? you know, considering we elected a "businessman" for a mayor.

schadenfreudian mensch

So if ever this thing ever sees the light of day they would have spent $1 billion to save $60 million. And people wonder why no one trust government and their lack of foresight on stupid projects such as this.

SP

Ahh, yes. Another shining example of how efficient and honest private industry is.

cxb

YOU NAILED IT: these PRIVATE contractors take taxpayers for a hundred times what "UNION" civil servants do!

REMEMBER: THE MEDIA LIES ABOUT ALMOST EVERYTHING.

I've said for 9 years that Bloombag is the WORST businessman -- and everyone laughed at me. (Yeah sure, paying the HIGHEST price for something [mayor's office] rather than the LOWEST price makes you a clever man, right????)

NONE OF BLOOMBAG'S COMPANIES MAKE A PROFIT (the radio, tv, news, and the rest are all total failures!) EXCEPT ONE and that one only made money thru dirty tricks and federal anti-trust violations to eliminate competition.

STOP BELIEVING GOVERN-MEDIA, willya???

Bubba

More mismanagement from the "business savvy" Bloomberg administration.

Manitoba

Letitia James:

"I am outraged that none of that $700+ million went straight to my slush fund. How ridiculous is that?!?! Now, I have to go around suing blue collar workers in my neighborhood just so I can afford the renovations on my townhouse!"

cxb

JUST LOOK AT THE SCANNER'S OWN DESIGN! IT's the DUMBEST THING I've ever seen! (What? YOu couldn't juryrig a Polaroid camera with some ducttape?)

THIS WAS JUST ANOTHER OF THE ZILLION TOTAL SCAMS by the Bernie Keriks / Looney Giulianis / Tax Hike Mikes who stole ALL YOUR MONEY and you just sit there like a jew in Germany, dumbfounded.

Over $200 BILLION has been stolen from you fools just by Rudy and Mike's team.

Sheesh.

You'll NEVER learn, will you?

[author bribes a Bloombag appointee and gets a $900 million contract to clean NYC's air with a flyswatter-with-coffee-filters-attached...]

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

actually Quinn is the one with the slush funds. James wasn't one of Quinn's cronies. it is Dominic Reechia, Simcha Felder, Diana Reyan, Sanders and a few more. Basically most of the ones who voted to overturn term limits are in Quinn's pockets.