Rotterdam coalition demands answers over €44.5m IT overspend

Parties in Rotterdam’s new coalition have strongly criticised the introduction of a new IT system at the city council that has cost almost three times the amount budgeted for it.

Work to install the Oracle Fusion system began in 2022 and was expected to last two years, with a budget of €16 million. But the costs have risen to €44.5 million and the launch date had to be postponed.

Marvin Biljoen of left-wing party PRO said: “Citizens are paying an absolute premium for an IT dream that has turned out to be a nightmare.”

The new system was overseen by alderman Ronald Buijt of the populist right-wing party Leefbaar Rotterdam. It was supposed to handle the council’s financial administration, including purchases, contracts and subsidies.

From next week Buijt will step down as a new executive council led by PRO takes over, following the local elections in March, while Leefbaar is now the largest opposition party.

Buijt is expected to face questions about the cost and implementation of the scheme in an emergency debate called by Biljoen this week, but the council is likely to leave the detailed scrutiny for a full council or committee meeting.

The outgoing council executive has accepted that its original forecasts of the cost were too optimistic and there were shortcomings in the management of the project. It also warned that improvements and adaptations to software would cost another €12 million this year and €13 million next year.

The cost implications were not given enough attention and the working relationship with consulting firm Deloitte, which was hired to oversee the transition to a cloud-based operating system, was below par, the council found.

“Rotterdammers are entitled to expect the council to be careful with taxpayers’ money,” Biljoen said. “If the costs of a project have nearly tripled and the running costs are set to be millions more over several years, there should be full transparency and political responsibility. The alderman has some explaining to do.”