Dallas city leaders sounded an alarm Monday over the city’s 25-year-old mainframe computer.
A report from the city auditor said problems identified five years ago have not been solved.
The report cited a fire-suppression system that failed tests, an untested backup power system and difficulty finding people qualified to work the old operating system.
"These issues were identified back in 2004," said Craig Kinton, city auditor. "We're sitting around here in 2009 still having this discussion."
A portion of Monday's City Council meeting was held behind closed doors with a guard outside the room to keep mainframe security issues secret.
The city has moved emergency 911 dispatch and water billing functions to more modern, server-based computer systems. But police, municipal court and city secretary records are among the city functions that are still run through the mainframe.
Council members were impatient about the problems.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"When it goes down, I really don't want to be here saying, 'I told you so,'" Councilman Ron Natinsky said.
He told city staff that he doesn't understand why the city doesn't test it.
Worris Levine, director of Communication and Information Services, said the problems are not as severe as the auditor indicated. Concerns are being addressed, he said.
"I feel confident in the systems that we have, and we can support the system in any event," Levine said.
The city plans to eventually switch all computer tasks to server systems. Police records are scheduled to move by 2011.
But the City Council has not provided the millions of dollars necessary to completely retire the mainframe.
Councilwoman Elba Garcia warned her colleagues they must find the money.
"That's the only way we're going to solve problems that are immediate problems, that would be disastrous," Garcia said.
City staff promised to return soon with a more detailed plan of action.
