Since August, the City of Hoover has tried to hide and downplay the findings of a forensic audit. Most recently, the council tabled a vote to pay for the audit itself.
Several of the findings were new and shocking, such as never before reported details of thousands of deleted and unrecoverable files and revelations that "fund balances and other items reported on financial disclosures and at City Council meetings were overstated or misrepresented on more than one occasion, including once by more than $36 million."
Other issues included in the report expand on problems already brought to light. For instance, the City has previously discussed challenges faced with the transition and rollout of the Munis system, a program by Tyler Technologies.
Almost two years ago, 1819 News reported on what was then described as a software glitch that caused hundreds of payroll overpayments to firefighters. Payments that the City then required the first responders to pay back from future checks.
Some of those impacted found themselves owing the city thousands of dollars, and, looking for answers, they began reaching out to their city councilman. In response, the city manager, Alan Rice, told 1819 News: "The reality is, administering payroll falls under the mayor's office and falls under the administration."
While the council doesn't directly participate in the City's payroll process, it does have an essential role in the checks and balances of passing resolutions that allow the City to enter into contracts with vendors and approve subsequent budget items for the vendors. At the time of the contract, the current city council president, John Lyda, was the finance committee chair.
Years before the City of Hoover chose and the council approved the vendor's contract, media reports show that Jefferson County was already reporting its challenges with them. The headline from Birmingham Watch in November of 2015 read, "Sound Familiar? Jeffco's $5 Million-Plus Financial Software Not Working Right." It goes on to detail, "Earlier this year, the county implemented the new Munis Tyler Technologies software to integrate the county's human resources, payroll, finance, and other departments — a move that, supposedly, would make it easier for the county to keep track of financial reports and personnel matters.
"County officials said the finance part of the system is working as planned. That $3.3 million system went live on October 1. However, the human resources/payroll system, which has cost $1.7 million so far, needs fixing, according to county officials. The cost is expected to grow since the work is ongoing."
According to The Hoover Sun, in February 2020, "The Hoover City Council on Monday night agreed to spend $1.1 million to pay for the first phase of a $2.1 million project to upgrade the City's primary computer software system.
"The council also agreed to pay $234,000 in first-year maintenance fees for the software program, with that amount to go up to $546,000 per year by fiscal 2024 as the program is expanded to other departments in the city."
During that meeting, the Sun reported that Amber Salter in the Human Resources Department said she used this new software program for four years in Cullman. Though she ultimately recommended it, she warned, "It was a painful transition to switch to it."
Individuals associated with the Jefferson County contract and implementation pointed fingers at one another, with one former HR official, Ron Sims, saying, "If these so-called key components and features were not included in the final agreed-upon contract between the Jefferson County Commission and Munis Tyler, that is because the county's interim IT director and the former head of the IT transformation team … along with representatives of the [personnel board] did not deem those things as critical.
"All of these individuals were tasked with [and participated in numerous meetings] to ensure that all the key components and features of the Munis Human Resources and Payroll System … were indeed part of the final product."
It's unclear who with the City of Hoover would be responsible for the Munis problems laid out in the Kroll report; however, only two of those in leadership positions when the contract was signed remain today, Mayor Frank Brocato and Council President John Lyda.
In an email to city employees during the height of frustrations over the plan for repayments due to the glitches from the new system, Rice wrote, "Unprofessional communications directed at any other city employee will be addressed through the disciplinary process. Specifically, personnel in the Payroll Unit and Finance Department did not create the errors that led to these overpayments. This was a flawed configuration by the payroll software vendor."
In the audit report, Kroll described the history of the program and its problems, saying, "Hoover began the process to evaluate and select a vendor to provide, install and maintain an ERP System to assist the City's staff in performing its financial duties in April 2019 (and to replace HTE, the older accounting software system). In late 2019, Munis was selected as the new software system. The Financial Recording and Reporting module of Munis, which included the general ledger, was implemented in May 2021, and the Payroll module of Munis followed in July 2022. We understand the Revenue module of Munis has not yet been put into operation."
The report continued, "System implementations are time and labor-intensive as well as complex, and the Munis project was no different. In discussions with Hoover personnel, it was apparent that the project lacked some basic requirements for a successful implementation. These include the following:
Identification of the correct stakeholders, including Munis end users, Munis post-implementation support persons, and the City's IT Department;
establishment of a project team with the right skills and assigned roles;
development of detailed business requirements with use cases, non-functional requirements, and a detailed project plan;
regular progress updates, accompanied by work and risk plan revisions to stakeholders;
completion of a requirements traceability matrix, rigorous pre-implementation user acceptance testing, and a completed exit report;
release to production in a controlled manner, including end-user training, documentation for groups and roles, and training for all stakeholders; and
adequate post-implementation support.
"By all indications and through discussions with Finance personnel, it is apparent that a successful implementation was not achieved," the report stated. "The deficiencies ranged from missed project and risk plan updates, lack of testing against use cases by subject matter experts to identify and fix defects, and to the lack of post-implementation support and handover.
"Based on our interviews with current and former Hoover personnel, some of the specific Hoover problems with Munis were payroll-related, such as overtime rules for the Police and Fire Departments and the continued use of paper time sheets.
"It's also not a coincidence that the one division that has been running smoothly (or with the least disruptions) over the last few years, the Revenue division, was not converted to Munis."
1819 News contacted Tyler Technology for comment. The company explained, "Throughout the implementation process, our teams worked closely with the City as they transitioned from a 25-year-old legacy system. Our assistance included creating a customized procedural manual to help bridge their transition from the legacy system to the new one.
"Each jurisdiction Tyler works with has its unique challenges, particularly when it comes to legacy business processes, change management, and various other project expectations. We continue to provide Hoover, Ala., with the support they need."
Citizens are asking the City or the city council to have representatives from Kroll come back for a town hall meeting to discuss all of the findings and the process related to the audit.
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at aprylmarie@altoday.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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