There is no solace In I told you so

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Good Morning Grace": 
Reading Geoffrey Simpson's article, it struck me. Aurora has the equivalent to the stealth fighter jet contract. Has the council, the majority of whom I helped to elect, truly signed up on a soft-ware contract for an item that no one has ever seen work? An item which none of them understand? Which is not needed in the first place? Is this sucker already poured in concrete or is there a chance sanity might prevail?
Sorry - it has been an irritant.
***********
I can only speak for myself. I opposed the $440,000 software program purchased  at the end of last year for several reasons.
At the end of a budget year and a significant expenditure is recommended. it looks to me like money being used so the next year's budget can be built on last year's actuals. 
The  cost  gave me pause. Software quickly becomes obsolete. 
The region had purchased the same program  several years previous. It was still  not performing as expected.
I spoke to two regional staff. They can speak, while Aurora staff are not allowed. According to one, the program  had not and still  was not perfoming  as expected. Addtional funds supplied  and additional  staff had to be hired.   
The  newly-hired  manager of the program was  more optimistic. The program was beginning to show progress and promised more.  
I  had  learned  the town's  asset  inventory program,  mandated by the province,would not be handled by  the new software.
The work had been done  on spread sheets. It needed a software program costing about $50,000 .That was not planned.
I  had also learned the town's IT department had not been consulted on compatibility of the new software program.  I did not learn that  from the IT department. . 
According to  policy, staff are not permitted to answer Councillors questions without a request being funneled  through a department head.
The policy was started in the last term.
Some senior staff do not enjoy my confidence.
That too started during the last term     
I pretend no expertise on software. I feel compelled to seek out satisfactory answers. 
A few months after  we bought the package, a further $58,000 was
requested for  items  overlooked in the original purchase
Six months after the purchase I asked for a report 
A neighbour had reported a depression on the front lawn in the area of the  stop valve  the previous November. 
The following May,after several additional  phone calls, a waterworks crew descended.
A  water leak  was discovered. A nick in a  pipe close to the valve, wassaito be caused during the excavation to discover reason for the depression in the ground., presumablycreted by a water leak, usually the  cause of a subsidence of soil  thereby creating a depression mening  water had been leaking  since the depression was firstnoticed and brought to the town's attention.   
A second neighbour, retired, compiled a  video  journal of the event and reported to me as a Councillor, numbers of men,.vehicles ,  equipment, duration of  project and time spent by numbers standing about watching one work. 
All were items expected  to be captured by the software program.
In New Business of the following Council meeting, I  related the story  and  asked if this  might be   what the software program was about.
The Mayor cheerfully agreed and  deferred to the Director. 
He said the program  was not up and running and would not be for  some time.
During a budget discussion of a further purchase of equipment for  the program, Council learned  last week, the program is now  at the testing stage. 
$100,000  more is needed to purchase seven hand held pieces of equipment, seven annual licences, not transferable, and  several other supporting  costs of about $700, apiece. . 
Permanent parks staff number thirteen. The objective  is for  twelve to be equipped year round to input data entry from the field.. 
Similar to the region, I believe additional staff  will also be needed for the system  to be functional.
We haven't got to the operating budget yet.
The recent  Annual Auditor's  Report was accompanied by a Management Letter.
It referred to problems created by treasury  staff not being properly trained or having necessary skills  to do the job 
It also referred to work being done on a spread sheet.
It's generally considered to be an  antiquated processs. 
Changes  have been ordered  in municipal accounting. 
The Chartered Accounting industry has  reported inadequacies.

Municipal staff throughout the Province are having diffculty adapting 
But that's a different issue to the $440,000  software program.
In answer to the query above.... Is  the decision  cast in concrete?
I would say so, Government regularly incurs the problem.
When  is the opportune time for  a  massive investment  to be abandoned?
Ah!!!  Saints Preserve us, there isn't one. Money just keeps being ploughed under to avert disaster.  
I just don't expect stuff  like this to happen in a little town  like ours.
At the Region...yes .
But that's another story.
.