LITTLE ROCK — For some lawmakers, a check voided by the state auditor was most telling of underlying problems with the state’s new computer system.
It was revealed during Wednesday’s nine-hour special Arkansas Legislative Council meeting following the departure of the state’s top two technology officials.
State Sen. Mike Beebe, D-Searcy, held the Arkansas Crime Information Center check above his head while questioning Doug Elkins, director of the Department of Information Systems.
“They voided the check because you asked them to pay money and they just turned around and paid you money and there’s no appropriation for it, which is illegal as can be under Arkansas law,” Beebe told Elkins and the Arkansas Legislative Council.
“That was huge,” state Sen. Bill Gwatney, D-Jacksonville, said of Beebe’s revelation after the meeting.
Coming to Elkins’ aid at Wednesday’s meeting, Richard Weiss, the state’s chief fiscal officer, explained to Beebe and the council that an appropriation was approved for the $24,456 check, but human error had caused it to appear otherwise.
“A bill had been paid and then voided, and instead of the appropriation being restored like it’s supposed to, human error did not let it get restored on AASIS,” Weiss said.
AASIS is the Arkansas Administrative Statewide Information System, which went live July 1, 2001.
Although the error was explained, Beebe noted that it was caught, not by the AASIS system, but by state Auditor Gus Wingfield, who refused to abandon the state’s old computer accounting system for AASIS.
State Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher also decided to remain on the old system.
Beebe noted that Fisher and Wingfield have been criticized for not joining AASIS.
“We have heard aspersions cast on our auditor’s office and on our treasurer’s office for not coming on board with AASIS,” he said. “We’ve heard aspersions from the administration and some questions from members of this committee that suggest that they believe that to some extent it may be part of the problem why AASIS isn’t up and running.”
Karla Wise, administration manager for the auditor’s office, said the problem with AASIS is that it accepts incorrect information.
“This is not the first time this has happened,” Wise said Friday. “This is one of the things that we’ve been concerned about. AASIS will allow checks to be printed with no appropriation on them. That’s one of the things we’re worried about. It’s going to continue to happen if there is human error. We don’t know how many have gone out like this.”
When Beebe on Wednesday noted that the Crime Information Center check would not have been caught if the auditor’s office was using AASIS, Weiss said, “So the checks and balances worked.”
Beebe responded, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, the checks and balances worked because Mr. Wingfield kept his old system up and it caught it.”
“That’s what I just said, yes sir,” Weiss said, drawing laughter.
Weiss, who was director of Department of Environmental Quality when AASIS was put into service and began his current job in April, said Friday he sees no problem with the treasurer and auditor using separate systems.
“I don’t know what all the issues were in past,” Weiss said. “I don’t have any problem with there being a separate system. I would just hope we can get better interfaces between them.”

Times Record

-- Anonymous, July 02, 2002