WI dumps two big IT projects within a month

Wisconsin has scrapped two major computer systems in the last month, most recently a $28 million sales-tax tracking system, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Deputy Revenue Secretary Laura Engan defended the move.

"We inherited a really not-great system from the prior administration. . . . We've managed this system we inherited in a good way," Engan said.

But legislators were dismayed.

"No private business would spend $26 million or $30 million for a project that doesn't work," said Rep. Sue Jeskewitz (R-Menomonee Falls), co-chairwoman of the audit committee.

"When will we see the end of these terribly, terribly wasteful projects?" said Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay), who pushed for the IT audit last year.

This follows the revelation that the state Department of Workforce Development was halting a $23 million system to track unemployment insurance claims. The plug was pulled when a $10 million component failed to work.

Last year, the University of Wisconsin System announced it was giving up on a payroll system that never worked after spending $26 million on it.

With a state audit of IT spending imminent, the state's chief information officer, Matt Miszewski, resigned last month. Officials denied a connection. The new CIO is Oskar Anderson.