Tag: rip off

Tyler Technologies, Incode Software and What REALLY Happened During Ransomware Attack – PART I

The City has been paying Tyler Technologies a tidy sum every year since at least 2014. Tyler provides Incode – which (as far as I can tell) is the software than runs all the utility payments for the city, among other things. Below are the amounts paid to Tyler since 2014 (as far back as I bothered to look – not sure how long they have been under contract):

  • 2014 – $33,939.65
  • 2015 – $35,540.42 (+4.70%)
  • 2016 – $37,984.99 (+6.87%)
  • 2017 – $39,820.80 (+4.83%)
  • 2018 – $41,762.43 (+4.87%)
  • 2019 – $43,816.63 (+4.92%) – this is AFTER Ransomware disaster!!
  • Average over five years: +5.82% per annum
  • 2020 – $45,693.33 (+4.28%)
  • 2021 – $47,463.11 (+3.9%)
  • 2022 – available next month…my guess is it’ll be over $50,000

I am really in the wrong business. Only as a government contractor can you raise your prices by 5.8% like clockwork every year and nobody bats an eye. It’s not like this software runs on gasoline and the price of fuel went up 6%….or there are parts made of silver that wear out and need to be replaced. No, it’s a string of code with no moving parts…they just raise it because they can.

MAYBE they raise it because they have to pay their tech support guys more and more every year. Those people who are on the other end of the line when the sh!t hits the fan and Monica/Kristy calls up in a panic asking them to “remote in” to fix the ransomware disaster they are sitting in the middle of. That must be it, right? I mean, for over $40,000 per year, you MUST get SOME kind of customer service, right??

Not exactly.

I requested internal City Hall emails of Monica, Kristy, Finley and Gary covering the period from Aug 15th through mid-September…during the August 16th ransomware disaster (which I estimate has cost the City roughly $40,000 in new computer equipment). Those emails do NOT paint a pretty picture when it comes to Tyler Technologies. Yet, the City STILL renewed their contract AND got bent over for a 5% increase!! Such amazing negotiators over there at City Hall. No wonder developers are flocking to Lampasas with their candy bags and departing with $100k each!

Up next – copies of internal emails during The Great Ransomware Disaster of August 16th.

City of Lampasas Coughs Up Requested Docs…After Demanding Another $83.50

Total paid to city to get “public” records: $483.50

Before I even  pick them up, there is a disclaimer in the email they sent last night (told to me AFTER I paid the first $400 two weeks ago) that “the City notes that several of your requests seek information that does not fall within the parameters of the Texas Public Information Act.  Additionally, the TPIA does not require a governmental body to “answer general questions” in response to an open record request”

Translation: we’re going to leave a ton of stuff out and if you don’t like it, too bad.

It’s hilarious to see tiny little Lampasas, which is supposed to be all about community and open government, hiding behind this legalese and doing everything it can NOT to answer the questions of the taxpayer.  Again – makes you wonder what they have to hide, doesn’t it??

I am heading to city hall right now to pay the final installment of $83.50.  Here is how they came up with that ridiculous amount:

Personnel charge to locate/copy documents: $15/hr for 25 hours: $375

Overhead charge (i.e. extra ‘screw you just because we can’): $75

Copy charges for approx 335 pages: $33.50

So, some useless doofus down there got paid twice to do their job.  First time with their bloated annual salary and then another $15 per hour to “retrieve” my documents.  You gotta love it.

I’ll be going through this big turd pile all day and will post as any nuggets become available.  I predict there will be no answers to any big questions.