News 12 at 6 o'clock / Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A News 12 investigation sounded the alarm that the city might be throwing away money with a new privatization.

"Our human resources department has been in shambles for years," said Mayor Pro Tem Joe Bowles.

He is speaking out after News 12 uncovered an internal memo exposing a list of "ADP issues." The company is on the fast track to taking over the human resources and payroll department.

"People saying they don't how the memo got out," Bowles said. "That is all junk. We all know that it was intentionally given to you by city employees that want to protect other city employees."

Actually the two-page list was drafted by Bill Shanahan in the city administrator's office. He is also acting interim director of the HR department.

"Who's running the department now?" we asked Bowles.

"I don't think anybody is," Bowles said.

This confusion over who is in charge might explain the city's response when we went in search of answers.

"It's not a perfect transition, It never has been, never will be," aid City Administrator Fred Russell in an interview Wednesday. "And those are things we are trying to solve. I'm tired. Seriously. Give me a break."

We can now show you the price tag for privatization. An executive summary prepared for commissioners says the first year would cost $3,063,698.47. Even in the second year, the cost is more than the city is spending right now.

"If it costs more money and it's not providing a better service, it will not happen," Bowles said.

This goes before the commission next week.

ADP released the following comment: "The 'issues' cited are not related to ADP. While we cannot comment specifically on ongoing sales engagements, ADP is committed to delivering service excellence and innovative solutions for all its clients."