Website developer denies deal with Skip Alston : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

GREENSBORO — After a week of silence, XMG Online CEO Calvin Williams Jr. said he wants to set the record straight.

Williams’ company was hired to build a new website for Guilford County government in 2009 . This week, county officials said they paid $47,000 to XMG only to receive an incomplete product so filled with bugs that they’re not sure any of it can be salvaged.

Guilford County Commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston has served on an N.C. A&T board with Williams. This led several of Alston’s fellow commissioners to accuse him of helping Williams land the project.

“I’ve worked hard to build my company and my own reputation for doing what’s right,” Williams said in an interview Friday.

He emphatically denied that Alston had anything to do with XMG getting the job.

Although Alston has said Williams attended Dudley High School with his son, Williams said he went to school in his native state of Maryland.

Williams said XMG was hired because the company has spent seven years doing quality Web design work in and around Guilford County.
Williams said Information Systems Director Barbara Weaver liked his company’s presentation.

But when XMG was hired, he said, it made a big mistake.

“We didn’t have a contract,” Williams said. “We were told by someone in Information Systems, I’m not sure who, that we could get to work quicker if we just did it through purchase orders — without a contract.”

Now, county commissioners want to know who gave XMG that advice. They have suggested that a series of smaller purchase orders, which do not need to be approved by the county commissioners, were used to keep the project beneath the radar.

Williams said a contract would have provided a better idea of exactly what the county expected his company to do. As the project went on, Williams said, it became clear the county wanted much more work than he thought his company had agreed to do for the price quoted.

Williams said the project’s first page — Web design and layout — went fine.

“The way we billed our project was in phases and milestones,” Williams said. “They only paid us for portions they received that were acceptable to them.”

It was the second part of the project — building a custom content-management system to operate the county’s website — that Williams said became a problem.

“We never thought we would be loading hundreds of pages of content for them after we built it,” he said. “But we realized that was what they expected. Our expectations were different.”

Williams said he probably should have told county officials that he couldn’t fulfill those expectations in the time allotted.

“But this was a big contract for my growing company and I live in Guilford County,” he said. “So I wanted to do the best job we could do for them. We didn’t say to them that it was more than we could handle. In fact, I hired more people to try to get it done.”

When that didn’t work, Williams said Weaver and County Attorney Mark Payne began pressuring him to turn over a finished product.

Williams said he decided to call Alston, not because he wanted Alston to exercise influence on his behalf, but because he thought he should go straight to the top.

Williams said Alston arranged a meeting at which it was agreed that XMG would get one more week to finish the project. If it couldn’t, the company would take its payments to that point and turn over what had been completed. “We weren’t able to complete the content-management system,” Williams said. “But we gave them what we did complete.”

This week, Weaver said a series of accounting errors by her staff has made it difficult to navigate exactly what was paid to XMG and when.

But after examining the documents, Weaver said she thought the county had paid for the design work because the staff approved of it. She said the county made partial payment for the rest before she realized the quality was so poor that it may not be salvageable.

Weaver said her department clearly made some mistakes but did so in trying to make improvements to the website for a price that the county could afford.

“I guess you do get what you pay for,” Weaver said.

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com

retiree

January 22, 2011 - 7:06 am EST

The reference by Weaver's saying a "series of accounting errors by her staff has made it difficult to navigate exactly what was paid to XMG and when" is preposterous. Check with the accounts payable department in Finance (Brenda Fox's domain) and they'll tell you what was paid, when, and for what purpose. My guess is the pay-as-you-go arrangement was to avoid a bid contract and Barbara went along with the wishes of Skip to appease him for one of his friends. She holds the truth in this fiasco, but is probably afraid to say anything for fear of retribution. Her leadership is also in question since this is another in a series of issues going back to those with Elections and the Sheriff having their own websites.

Joe Killian

January 22, 2011 - 7:30 am EST

The county has as of yesterday made the purchase order available.

Weaver's point about the accounting errors is that she believes her department agreed to pay Williams in two POs of a little over $32,000 a piece for a total just north of $65,000. Through an error, she says, her department ended up issuing three purchase orders for a total of just over $47,000 before the dispute ended any further payments.

This would itself be more than was quoted in an original XMG proposal made available yesterday, but there is no final contract so we don't have a written record of what work was agreed to for what final price after that initial proposal and conversations about just how much work would need to be done on the site.

ZhaK

January 22, 2011 - 11:49 am EST

Technical note for N&R staff. The comment option on this article has been diverted in Google Chrome to a hyperlink (info(at)xmgonline.com). The comment option in Firefox defaults to an endless loop. Clearly it still works in Internet Explorer or you wouldn't be reading this. Comments on other articles work across platforms. How ironic is that?

succeed

January 22, 2011 - 7:40 am EST

If ever there was a need for an SBI investigation this is it. We paid, but don't know exactly what we paid for. To keep under the radar, break the project into small bites. Pay $47,000 for the unusable website. Would you pay $47,000 for a car that doesn't have an engine?

This is real tax payer money going out the door. How many other sweetheart deals like this are being done, that have Skips finger prints on them?

He is caught red handed on this one,

1234

January 22, 2011 - 7:55 am EST

TYPICAL OF THIS COUNTY/CITY...if I can get my home sold...I and wife are out of here. Just like AMEX, we can live anywhere and we are tired of getting the tax shaft!

milo1

January 22, 2011 - 8:01 am EST

Sorry friend but you will get the tax shaft and place you go. Some places are worse than others.

xmgonline

January 22, 2011 - 8:32 am EST

Good Day, this is Calvin Williams of XMG Online. I would like to thank all for participating in this discussion and I want to first and foremost say that I welcome all comments from news outlets, bloggers, and individual citizens. This is my county just as much as it is your county and we all want what is best for it.

The questions around the finances of the project will be answered by XMG. We will publish the proposals, invoices and purchase orders on our website on Monday. We welcome all to review.

Pertaining to the work accomplished on the project, XMG will detail what was done, what was not done, and the additional change requests that occurred during the project which caused the project to grow out of scope. I understand that everyone is not satisfied with the conclusion of the project.

Trust me, if anyone is disappointed, it is I. I hoped that our relationship with Guilford County could grow and develop into something great. Instead, we left being unable to resolve our differences in project scope.

Again, I am available for direct communication or through this (or any other blog). You may contact me directly at:

www.xmgonline.com
Phone: 336.510.9642
E-Mail: info(at)xmgonline.com

January 22, 2011 - 9:48 am EST

Just return the money (learn from your mistake), push to get Weaver fired and request an SBI investigation and you will be considered a stand up guy. Anything less and you are in bed with them.

disappointedaggie

January 22, 2011 - 10:22 am EST

Mr. Williams, I applaud your honesty and I am sorry that you have gotten mixed up with such a shady bunch as our county commissioners who's business ethics have been called into question more than once this year. I believe that you gave the county what they asked for, point blank. If they wanted specifics then they should have been specific with you about what they wanted. You are a business man not a mind reader. I know that some of these comments and the articles try to damage your repuation, but know that not everyone in Greensboro drinks the N&R kool aid. Please continue to fight the good fight and hang in there!

January 22, 2011 - 11:32 am EST

I am OFFENDED that you support this action. He knows it takes two meetings of the mind to have a contract but there again try and defend yo brother

DonMoore

January 22, 2011 - 11:23 am EST

I believe the fault lies with the County. They should have have some idea of the scope of the project before they even started talking with you. WGHP's coverage and interview with the County Attorney indicates for the most part, XMG Online did what was asked.

January 22, 2011 - 12:10 pm EST

Mr. Williams, I applaud you for making yourself directly available in this manner. I hope you have a thick skin as the N&R comments are not always the most civil. I hope the discussion can remain above septic. Your company bid a project for my company. In this instance we went with another local company but our experience in many ways mirrors this current one. Ultimately what I have found is our local web design companies (save one) are very good at design but not so hot with the technical side. It's a style/substance issue. On the surface the products look very nice. The substance which is the foundational code plus the content management interface presents a problem. In our case, the company we hired did the design work in-house but the coding was sub-contracted out. The content management system that we requested based on a WordPress platform was never delivered because the subcontracted programmer didn't use this tool. The web development tool that he did use was fine for other programers but not user-friendly for non-technical lay users. We ended up hiring a developer to remediate the site. This seems to be a common problem in the industry. I understand that development of large scale websites can be complicated but sites, particularly for non-profits, should be straightforward and easy to update. How can this service be improved?

Yvonne1

January 22, 2011 - 12:23 pm EST

By golly I do believe you are a plant? How incredibly stupid? Do you think the public is simple-minded enough to believe your post? The damage has been done fella. Bungled website is a career-stopper.

January 22, 2011 - 12:36 pm EST

In answer to your questions. 1) No, I am not a plant, I am a mammal. 2) Yes, your comments tend to be incredibly stupid. 3) No, but the general public tends to see things in simplistic terms. Oh, and though not phrased as a question, I am not a 'fella.'

Abner Doon

January 22, 2011 - 1:49 pm EST

Mr. Williams,

“Alston denies bringing the company, XMG Online, to the county or helping it win the contract. Alston said he does know XMG CEO Calvin Williams Jr., who went to Dudley High with Alston’s son. Alston also serves with Williams on a board at N.C. A&T.”

Who nominated you for a board appointment at A&T?

Please detail your website programming credentials.

“Williams said he decided to call Alston, not because he wanted Alston to exercise influence on his behalf, but because he thought he should go straight to the top."

Please specify the entirety of your relationship with Commissioner’s Chairman Alston.

Please state for the record whether or not your have ever called Mr. Alston your personal “mentor”.

If you deny referring to Mr. Alston as your mentor, please offer an explanation of why more than one person, from more than one source, would lie about you saying so.

How did you become aware of the Chamber of Commerce business?

“Information Systems Director Barbara Weaver said Williams got the contract because people in her department liked his Web design and he impressed them in a meeting in October 2009.”

What “people” referring to what "design"?

What led to the initial meeting with Barbara Weaver?

Were any members of the Information Systems department aware of your relationship with Skip Alston?

Have you had any interaction with the County Manager?

““The way we billed our project was in phases and milestones,” Williams said. “They only paid us for portions they received that were acceptable to them.””

“Williams said Alston arranged a meeting at which it was agreed that XMG would get one more week to finish the project. If it couldn’t, the company would take its payments to that point and turn over what had been completed. “We weren’t able to complete the content-management system,” Williams said. “But we gave them what we did complete.””

If Guilford County only paid for portions “acceptable to them,” why do the preceding two passages contradict each other, and why is there a billing dispute?

Who are “we”?

Would you be willing to submit to a polygraph concerning questions on your business dealings with Guilford County?

George Hartzman
Emailed to inbox at xmgonline.com

January 22, 2011 - 2:04 pm EST

Did the Information Systems Department call you?

pragmatic

January 22, 2011 - 10:29 am EST

Public officials must ensure that every "t" is crossed and every "i" is dotted when managing taxpayer dollars. These public officials may be as reckless as they wish when managing their personal finances, however, when they are responsible for taxpayer funds, every effort must be made to protect investments. Otherwise, the term inappropriation of funds may be mentioned.
I am not a believer in nepotism, but do believe in offering opportunities for up-and-coming companies with a proven record of success. If XMG accepted a job and failed to fulfill those requirements, they should be held responsible for all or a portion of the funds they received from county funds.
To qualify, XMG should have been adequately screened and approved by all of the Public officials responsible for the distribution of county funds.
Instead of diverting attention away from the matter-at-hand, Public officials must be forthright when providing accurate and concise information regarding their decisions, and accept full responsibility for any and all decisions they make in their capicity, as elected officials.
We would like to be proud of our elected officials, however, it is sometimes difficult to do so.

January 22, 2011 - 12:33 pm EST

They weren't screened because his good buddy Skip Alston snuck company through. Now they have wasted taxpayer dollars and who is to blame. Well, my finger is pointing at Alston first and foolish accounts payable second. Next I point to head workerbee (vendor), he knew his company was not qualified to accept such an assignment. Therefore, all my fingers points to vendor who should return all funds, PRONTO!

countryboy

January 22, 2011 - 10:39 am EST

Everyone here is missing the point...somewhere on the south side of town there is a $300.00 cow missing...and we WILL find it.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/01/21/article/alston_asks_for_in...

January 22, 2011 - 11:33 am EST

Birds of a feather flock toegether...c-r-o-o-k-s. Vendor should payback City of Greensboro all payments. Obviously, he (company) was/is not equipped to do the job(s). Reputable firms will bid on jobs; others use purchase orders and Skip Alston to gain $$$. Skip should be fined the amount wasted on vendor. Skip Alton: stop wasting taxpayer dollars. It's not yours to waste.

kingofnines

January 22, 2011 - 12:57 pm EST

Now that the downtown hotel project has fallen through, Skip Alston has to make some money elsewhere! It's strange and coincidental that Skip and his "friends" (Fox, Arnold & Williams) have been involved in so many shady deals that cost the taxpayers. Why don't you people vote yourselves a Million Dollar per year salary and be done with it? Thank God for the Rhino Times!! I would gladly pay for this newspaper!

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