As reported in today's "Courier" and the "Press and Journal" (you can read the latter article by clicking on the headline above or going to http://tinyurl.com/pandjfiling), I have expressed concern about the council’s decision to purchase an corporate electronic management system at a cost of £738 000, to be used in the council’s intended new headquarters – Dundee House – in North Lindsay Street.My complaint covers two aspects of the way in which the filing system has been agreed by the Council. Firstly, the tender was approved in a delegated fashion due to “urgent timescales”. Council Standing Orders allow this but only with the approval of all council group leaders. The Council failed to consult all groups. I received an assurance from new Chief Executive David Dorward at the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee on Monday that this error will not be repeated in the future.
My major concern, however, is the cost of the filing system at a time when the City Council’s finances are under severe strain.
When the decision was taken earlier in the summer at the Council’s recess committee to go out to tender for this electronic management system, I expressed concern at the possible cost and said that it was vital that councillors were given a full report to show the rationale for such a high expenditure on what is essentially an electronic filing system. I was given assurances at the time that a full report would be forthcoming, but this has failed to happen.
£738 000 is a tremendous amount of money to spend on this product, particularly at a time when the council faces very significant financial challenges. Public services come first. The council should not be spending over £700 000 without being absolutely sure it is money well spend and will provide storage savings that justify the expenditure. I am deeply sceptical about this.
The Chief Executive has offered to meet with me, along with the Director of City Development, to discuss my concerns and give me detail of the system the council is purchasing.