"...Recently I watched the classic film "Life With
Father," so strange notions about spending or saving money
shouldn't have been difficult for me to grok. But a government
employee passing up an opportunity to take credit for saving the
city $200,000? It didn't make sense.
Digging further, I encountered a source who said off-the-record
that Microsoft was auditing the city, and it faced $15 million in
fines and license fees. A rumored solution to the city's lack of
vigilance with licenses was to negotiate a long-term contract with
Microsoft.
I contacted the mayor's office, the city manager's office, and
members of the city council and asked each to go on the record and
confirm or deny what were, essentially, rumors. I heard silence --
no responses. I filed a Freedom of Information request with Austin,
asking the following:"
