"Privatizing the system would just ensure that one of Bing's buddies would get a hook up."

From what I've read of past city screw-ups, these systems have been contracted out for design and installation by private vendors. Poor planning by city staff can play a role in a poorly setup and running system, cost overruns, etc. But we'll probably find that it was an outside vendor that did the bulk of the work on this system. This looks like the vendor that did the work:

http://www.computechcorp.com/casestu...ementation.pdf

and this isn't the first time that city employees have complained about the system.

http://michigancitizen.com/workbrain...k-p8842-74.htm