Another expensive typo

[deep]

The latest story is that a town in Indiana is facing all sorts of budgetary problems due to someone (probably not employed by the city) who incorrectly entered a computer system and valued a $122k house at $400 million.

The city used the valuations to estimate tax revenue for the year, and the difference boosted this homeowner's expected taxes from $1,500 to $8 million.

Without any safeguards or any humans checking into what was going on, much of that $8 million got allocated to local schools and various city projects.

They then spent the expected money, only to discover last week that it doesn't exist.

Again, shouldn't any computer system like this send up an alarm when a $100k house is suddenly valued at $400 million? Heck, shouldn't it send up an alarm when any house is valued at $400 million, no matter what it's previous value was?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_400_Million_House.html

 

[bombthreat23]

ouch

 

[acheron]

I'm more concerned about how the town's accountants didn't notice they had $8 million more to spend than the year before.

 

[daddyiwantchocolate]

haha!

 

[stir-fry]

Originally posted by acheron
I'm more concerned about how the town's accountants didn't notice they had $8 million more to spend than the year before.

They had better things to do, like get pigs drunk and launch them into space*












*the ganges

 

[Flashy_McFlash]

Originally posted by acheron
I'm more concerned about how the town's accountants didn't notice they had $8 million more to spend than the year before.

Well in Toronto that amount would most likely slip through unnoticed, but in Vaginahole, Indiana? Kind of bizarre.

 

[deep]

Originally posted by stir-fry
They had better things to do, like get pigs drunk and launch them into space*












*the ganges

It happened in Indiana, not India!

Or are we talking about a sufficiently powered pigcannon to shoot a spacepig from Indiana to India? If so I would like to support this endeavour.

 

[stir-fry]

hah!

gg reading comprehension

 

[deep]

Originally posted by stir-fry
hah!

gg reading comprehension

Lack of attention to detail given subject of thread = awesome++++

 

[acheron]

in Uzbek pig-shoot is part of sekret military budget. is entered under 'food preparation' on double-entry ledger for public consumption[sic].

 

[SJN]

What intrigues me is how someone managed to enter 122,000 as 400,000,000. It's not like someone just missed a decimal place or inverted some numbers. WTF?!??

 

[depraved]

Maybe it was the last day at work for whoever did the data entry & thought they'd go out with a flourish

 

[Flashy_McFlash]

Originally posted by depraved
Maybe it was the last day at work for whoever did the data entry & thought they'd go out with a flourish

A 'flourish' is exactly the word I would use for causing an 8 million dollar defecit for the town of Vaginahole, Indiana.

 

[deep]

I'm guessing the mention of the old property valuation program means that someone used the wrong tool to assess the value of the home. Even if it is an outdated program / dataset from 1995 I can't see what variables would produce a 3278x difference. The home was mistakenly thought situated on a gold mine and built with walls of gold taken from the mine?

 

[sugar]

Originally posted by Flashy_McFlash
Vaginahole

redundant

 

[annec]

Originally posted by deep
I'm guessing the mention of the old property valuation program means that someone used the wrong tool to assess the value of the home. Even if it is an outdated program / dataset from 1995 I can't see what variables would produce a 3278x difference. The home was mistakenly thought situated on a gold mine and built with walls of gold taken from the mine?

It's sitting on Bill Gates' data mine.