Bentley and Ex-Acting Finance Director Bill Newton signing STAARS contract
MONTGOMERY – A hearing is set for Tuesday in the suit by State Auditor Jim Zeigler seeking to void a state contract for a financial accounting software, alleging it was not done in compliance with the competitive bid law.
The system, called the State of Alabama Accounting and Resource System, STAARS, has run into problems during its implementation.
The hearing is at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, in the courtroom of Judge James Anderson in the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Zeigler is seeking to void the $47 million dollar contract with vendor CGI, which had been part of the problemed Obamacare software. Zeigler alleges that the state awarded the contract for STAARS by amending a 1982 contract and without using competitive bids. According to Zeigler, that contract had expired in 1997.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the contract and amendments void and to order the Finance Department to rescind them.
Susan Copeland, an attorney for Zeigler, said part of the argument in the lawsuit is that STAARS is not an upgrade to an old system but an entirely new system. The lawsuit quotes a section from “frequently asked questions” on the STAARS website that describes STAARS as a “new state-wide software platform.”
Zeigler said taxpayers are not paying for the lawsuit. Zeigler attorney Doyle Fuller said he paid the filing fee. The lawsuit asks the court to award “attorney fees and costs as may be appropriate.”
Media Release/Hope Curry, CPM
Executive Assistant
to Jim Zeigler
State Auditor
