County's new information age
It's the nature of government to avoid risk. Failure in the public eye -- and with the public purse -- can be politically disastrous. But San Diego County, which has become a trend-setter in the risky field of contracting out services to the private sector, is about to take an even bigger leap, becoming the first local government in the nation to contract out its entire network of computer systems. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Tuesday to award a $644 million, seven-year contract -- the largest in county history -- to a consortium of high-tech firms led by Los Angeles-based Computer Sciences Corp.
Other cities and counties around the country have contracted out parts of their systems and the city of San Diego created its own nonprofit company to handle its computers, but San Diego County would be the first to turn over its entire network of computers, databases, telephones and technical support to private industry to run. The venture is the capstone to an ambitious countywide privatization plan begun three years ago by former county Chief Administrator Larry Prior.
In May, Prior turned over the project to his chosen successor, Walt Ekard. We criticized Prior's decision to go back to the private sector in the middle of a job so critical to the county's future, but Ekard has done a good job following through. The county hired some of the top technology consultants in the country to set up and review bid proposals. Ekard recently hired an executive who has orchestrated several such "outsourcing" in the private sector to oversee the project.
The result is a deal that will replace the county's antiquated computer and telephone systems within three years, then the computers again within four years. While officials expect this to increase worker productivity -- some employees still use 386 computers, and few of the dozens of systems can communicate with one another -- the real payoff, they say, will be in service to taxpayers.
Within two years, the county expects to have a number of public services available through the Internet, including court and other public records that people now have to stand in line for, tax information and routine services like dog licensing. The county promises to add at least five new services a year to its Internet array, and the contract calls for 100 computers to be set up at county libraries and 12 more in special kiosks around the county, for those without home computers.
At $92 million a year, the contract is not cheap, but the county now spends more than $70 million a year on employees and overhead just to maintain its crumbling computer and phone systems. CSC has handled information for the National Security Agency, FBI and Department of Defense, easing concerns about the security of personal information in county databases. And the company's promise to guarantee two years' employment to the 290 county employees losing their jobs in the changeover is far more generous than the five-month guarantee the county sought.
But for all the potential benefits, this remains a risky proposition. CSC has numerous outsourcing successes on its resume, but also a couple of high-profile failures. The county's privatization efforts have not gone completely smoothly, particularly its adult mental-health services contract. And while there will be some added for people able to get some basic services through their home computers, the benefit to the average taxpayer may be overstated. Most of what the county does will still need to be handled face to face.
In the long run, though, contracting out technology systems makes sense. Computer technology is a highly specialized field, advancing well beyond the ability of government to keep up. Partly because it is the first to take such a giant step, the county has wrung an excellent deal from CSC and its partners. It is riskier than officials want to acknowledge, but it's a risk worth taking.
