$50,000 for a Glorified Bulletin Board
by Kristina Rasmussen We told you about a $100K state grant to put up two informational kiosks in Springfield in a Spotlight on Spending report: $100,000 for Touch Screen Kiosks in Springfield The DCEO gave Downtown Springfield Inc. $100,000 for touch-screen kiosks to “provide information on local historic sites, restaurants, retail shops, services, hotels, recreational facilities, maps...
We told you about a $100K state grant to put up two informational kiosks in Springfield in a Spotlight on Spending report:
$100,000 for Touch Screen Kiosks in Springfield
The DCEO gave Downtown Springfield Inc. $100,000 for touch-screen kiosks to “provide information on local historic sites, restaurants, retail shops, services, hotels, recreational facilities, maps of downtown and other services.” The web-based informational kiosks are located at Eighth and Adams streets, near the Prairie Capital Convention Center, and at Sixth and Madison streets, near Union Station and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. As of June 29, 2010, neither kiosk computer was operational. The DCEO’s grant tracker also says the grant (#08-203453) will provide for hiring a part-time employee “to serve as an information/data input operator to collect and post information.”
I dropped by the kiosk near the convention center on Tuesday, and lo and behold, the touch screen was non functional (I was entertained, however, by a flashing Windows logo). The other sides of the kiosk contained posters for upcoming events. I didn’t have time to check out the kiosk by the museum.
What does this mean? Taxpayers spent $50,000 on a glorified bulletin board. Perhaps we should have spent $1,000 on a plain old notice board and put the remaining $49,000 toward the deficit.
You’ll remember that the SJ-R reported on how the money for these kiosks was unexpectedly given to the city by state government — it’s a great example of the potential for waste behind “free” money handed out from above. You paid for it, folks.