Dallas County commissioners were told Tuesday that they need to completely overhaul their IT structure to address a year of serious cyber issues.
The county has been plagued by a ransomware attack, computers auctioned off while containing personal information, getting scammed out of $2.4 million and two large software transitions that have crippled county business.
An independent report found that Dallas County spent $11 million more than similar counties on software last year, has “critically low” staffing gaps and gives IT staff “no power” in making important decisions.
Staff from Gartner, an IT consulting firm, said that often Dallas’ IT staff feel that their voice is “being squashed down” and they don’t feel comfortable going to elected officials with their concerns.
Bob Jirgal, a senior managing partner at Gartner, and his staff presented and answered commissioners’ questions for nearly two hours at Tuesday’s regular Commissioners Court meeting. He said Dallas County needs an IT restructuring.
Among the county’s major problems was a fouled update in the auditor’s office of the county’s financial management system, Oracle, causing thousands of employees not to be paid on time as well as tens of thousands of vendors left waiting to be paid for their work with the county. The budget office is still correcting its books.
The local criminal justice system has been suffering since April, when the county moved to a new criminal case management system, Odyssey. Attorneys and judges told The Dallas Morning News that inmates have languished in jail after they have been ordered to be released because of the software migration.
Decision-making
Currently, for software changes or implementations, Dallas County has steering committees of staff and elected officials who make recommendations to the IT Executive Governance Committee, a committee of department heads and two commissioners. If the committee approves of the recommendation, the proposals go before the full Commissioners Court for a vote.
The Gartner report found that there is not sufficient IT involvement in the decision-making process.
“IT is not included early enough in processes to help the county make smart decisions,” Alexandra Dmytriw, a Gartner senior director, told commissioners. “When IT leaders have been invited, we have heard examples of their voices being squashed down, which has created a situation where they don’t feel comfortable to come forward and say we know things need to be different.”
Commissioner Elba Garcia said that she knows IT staff have felt uncomfortable speaking up when they disagree with commissioners’ decisions, which in the past have sometimes been contrary to recommendations by senior IT staffers.
“The problem with that is, when you have no power to make decisions, or limited power, in what software is purchased and the other types of purchases that impact IT, IT is always playing catch up,” Dmytriw said.
The consulting firm said that the county rebuild should allow a subgroup of IT staffers to consider technology investments before the ITEG committee takes up proposals.
Staffing changes
County Administrator Darryl Martin told commissioners that 24 of 146 positions in IT are vacant, as is the top IT job.
“We’re missing a number of key positions, including the CIO,” he told commissioners Tuesday.
Dallas County has been without an IT director since July, but commissioners have approved a contract Tuesday for an interim, Cathy Maras, who has been the chief information officer in Bexar County and Chicago’s Cook County, Ill. The contract covers fees for up to $50,000.
Martin told commissioners that getting a new head of IT should be a priority, and Gartner staff agreed, adding that their choice will shape the future of the department.
Gartner’s report recommended that the top IT position focus more on building relationships with external stakeholders and third parties and reducing the number of IT employees reporting directly to them.
The Gartner report also found that staffing within the IT department is different than in similar counties. Dallas County has on average 36 fewer staff members in data center, network and workplace services, while putting more staff in its applications development and support.
Jirgal and his team also noted that Dallas County does not have a team in place to help county departments transition to new software.
There were never conversations with departments about implementation before buying a software and turning it on, Martin said. Many of the crippling problems with implementing recent Odyssey and Oracle software upgrades could have been avoided with better communication and training, Martin said.
“Those questions needed to be asked way beforehand,” he said. “We didn’t ask the questions from the beginning, and now we are here trying to fix problems.”
Budget
In 2022, Dallas County spent on average $11 million more on its IT department than the nine peer counties Gartner used in its report.
The report also says Dallas County has spent more money on software than its peers. Dallas spends 60% of its $72 million annual IT budget on hardware and software — $20 million more than peer counties do.
Jirgal also said that there is a “big gap” in how many Dallas County IT staff are tasked with helping county employees compared with others.
“Monies you’re spending on hardware and software aren’t available for staffing,” Jirgal said.
Jirgal said implementing Gartner’s recommendations would take time and there are no easy fixes for the county’s IT system.
“You can’t flip the switch from where you are today and say, ‘IT, now you have ownership.’ You’ve got leaders you need to bring in. You’ve got investment to make. You’ve got to get your staffing gaps fixed,” he told commissioners.
