Council orders independent review of troubled LAPS payroll project and clears path for outside assessment

The Los Angeles City Council on Sept. 14 authorized an independent assessment of the LAPS payroll implementation and approved steps to solicit competitive proposals for how to proceed. The motion, advanced by the government-efficiency committee and supported by the City Controller and administrative staff, passed by voice vote (recorded 12 Ayes).

City Controller Mr. Tuttle framed the matter as a reassessment rather than an immediate termination of the LAPS project: "I'm not saying we necessarily end the laps project. I am saying we need to take a fresh look at it and give it the benefit of the competitive marketplace," he said during the staff presentation.

Controller and staff accounts described how LAPS had been pursued partly as a Y2K contingency and that, after independent analysis by Maximus, projected costs to finish the project had increased while some anticipated benefits had declined. Staff said the legacy payroll system had been made Y2K-compliant but that longer-term concerns remain; they recommended soliciting proposals and assessing life-cycle costs before committing further funds.

A substantial portion of the debate focused on whether PeopleSoft, the software vendor involved in implementing the LAPS system, should be allowed to perform the assessment. Several members of staff and counsel objected to PeopleSoft performing the independent evaluation because it would “audit themselves.” Mr. Fujioka and ITA staff said an independent, arms-length consultant should perform the diagnostic; councilmembers agreed the consultant should interview PeopleSoft and include PeopleSoft’s perspective in the report, but should be independent from the implementation procurement.

Councilmembers offered several directions for the next steps: issue a request for qualifications and proposals to evaluate options (including re-architecting the legacy system vs. completing or rebidding LAPS), have the consultant produce a life-cycle cost estimate, and include interviews with PeopleSoft as part of information-gathering while preserving independence.

What’s next: Staff will proceed with the consultant solicitation and return to the council with findings and any recommended implementation path. The council’s vote cleared the committee recommendation to fund and schedule the independent assessment.