State consultants have history of bad press.
On Aug. 12, local newspapers reported that a new state accounting system isn't working properly.
SFR has learned that Maximus Inc., the Virginia-based company hired by the state in 2005 to help implement the system and train employees, has its own history of problems.
In 2001, the Washington, DC, trade publication Government Computer News (GCN) reported that
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prosecutors in New York and South Carolina investigated Maximus following allegations that the company used its political influence to get contracts.
The GCN story also notes that following a 2000 investigation into Maximus' contracts with the state of Wisconsin, the company returned $485,000 in excess billings to the state's Workforce Development Department and donated $500,000 to local nonprofits. In the story, Maximus executives denied allegations of impropriety.
Last month, the Washington Business Journal reported that Maximus settled a lawsuit for $10 million after being accused of fraudulent guarantees of computer equipment leases.
According to Rick Martinez, deputy secretary of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Maximus won a two-year contract to install and implement SHARE (Statewide Human Resources, Accounting and Management Reporting System) and help train state employees in 2005.
SHARE was implemented July 1 to help consolidate 70 different accounting systems for 24,000 state employees and 60,000 vendors. But the system has caused late payments to employees and vendors.
Martinez says Maximus' contract process was extensive and involved representatives from all state agencies and a team of agency heads.
"It was unique because the users themselves were making the decision," Martinez says.
The Center For Responsive Politics reports that between 2003 and 2006, Maximus contributed approximately $145,000 to the Democratic Governors Association. Gov. Bill Richardson has chaired the political group since December 2004.
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos says it's "ridiculous to try and tie the two together" and notes that Maximus contributed more money ($148,685, according to CRP) to the Republican Governors Association over the same time period.
"It looks like Maximus has figured out the playing field in terms of involving themselves in the political process on the front end so that they can reap the benefits," Leah Rush, director of state projects for the Center For Public Integrity, says.
Maximus did not return repeated phone calls to its Virginia office.
History aside, the SHARE delays are impacting state contractors. Linda Atkinson, executive director of the DWI Resource Center in Albuquerque, says the state owes her group $37,000.
Says Atkinson: "If I don't get paid, I can't pay the people that work for me. And then I'll have no way to operate."
