JEFFERSON CITY — The top administrator in the Missouri House is pushing back against a company trying to sell a software program to the General Assembly’s lower chamber.
Dana Rademan Miller, the chief clerk of the House, says the company’s product is not significantly better than the current in-house program used to assist constituents who make contact with the offices of lawmakers.
In memos obtained by the Post-Dispatch, Miller also said the constituent management program being offered by Fireside was too expensive.
“While from a high level, the Fireside CM application appears to be a solid program, it is an expensive redundancy and is not needed,†Miller said in a memo sent to lawmakers Aug. 8.
Fireside, a subsidiary of FiscalNote, is being pitched to the House as a web-based product that integrates contact forms, mailing templates and other features into its framework.
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“Share updates on your legislative work. Templates and ready-built constituent lists mean you can send professional-looking communications in no time at all,†the firm says on its website.
The California-based company is represented in the Missouri Capitol by lobbyists Chris Roepe and John Bardgett, who have contracts with a number of high-profile businesses and governments, including the City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Anheuser-Busch, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals and Toyota.
The lobbying firm last year scored a win for a different client when the state bought a school safety app designed to alert authorities about the presence of a school shooter in a building.
Raptor Technologies has been paid $1.1 million out of a contract worth a possible $3.4 million.
It is not yet clear whether the lobbyists or Fireside have convinced House leaders to adopt the system. A hearing of a House committee that oversees administration of the chamber is set for Sept. 12.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Dale Wright, R-Farmington, could not be reached for comment.
According to documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch, the application would cost taxpayers nearly $800,000 over two years, as opposed to the current in-house program that Miller says is “cost-efficient.â€
She said the cost would be the second most costly outsourced contract in the House budget.
“I found the cost, however, at $388,000 annually, with a minimum two-year contract, to be prohibitive,†Miller wrote in a memo the legislators. “I also found the product to be a redundancy given the investment of time and resources that the House has expended to develop our current CM tool.â€
In her analysis, Miller also expressed concern that a feature on the Fireside program would allow lawmakers to export data obtained within their official capacity as a state representative to the campaign side of their jobs.
She also said under the current system data is stored on an internal database with its own unique internal security credentials and which is not connected to the web server to avoid this data being vulnerable to hacking.
In her memo, Miller said any upgraded services available through Fireside could be added to the House’s current set-up within four to five weeks or sooner in some cases.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fireside’s product has been adopted in other states.
In Georgia, the Senate is using the app for its 56 members. Officials there say it assists legislative staff in addressing constituent needs.