have a lot of respect for the folks at VTDigger. Due to the changing finances of mass media, there’s a growing gap between the quantity of serious journalism in Vermont, and the need for such reporting. Digger is doing what it can to fill that gap.

However…

They’re not perfect. And earlier this week, they served up a little clunker entitled

Statewide reform of payroll system won’t deal with fraud

Which sounds like a big story. Due to the apparent fraudulence of a state trooper, questions are being asked about the checks and balances on the payroll system. And the state’s new payroll reform won’t deal with that? Sounds like a problem!

Except, well, it’s not.

The $8.2 million Enterprise Resource Planning project, which has been in the works for two years, will streamline the timesheet system for state workers, as well as upgrade the state’s overall human resources software.

But top state officials say the upgraded system won’t prevent fraud, in spite of concerns raised by a recent Vermont State Police overtime scandal.

Okay, wait wait. The project “has been in the works for two years,” and yet somehow it won’t solve a problem that just arose?

Does Governor Shumlin have a time machine? If not, how could a two-year-old program be expected to address a concern that just arose?  

The payroll upgrade was undertaken because the current system is antiquated and inefficient. The state needs a new one. But a new payroll system can’t be expected to prevent the kind of over-the-top cheating allegedly conducted by Jim Deeghan.

Jim Reardon, commissioner of the Department of Finance and Management, said no system “can be 100 percent foolproof.” He emphasized that primary responsibility for internal controls remains with supervisors, who review and approve timesheets.

As it should be. And if Deeghan did manage to pad his time sheets so outrageously, his supervisor should have noticed. (I do hope the supervisor comes in for his share of responsibility, should the charges against Deeghan hold up in court.)

The story meanders on from there, trying to make chicken salad out of this little pile of chickenshit. And failing.

I can think of two possible explanations for this exercise in journalistic fluffery, and neither are very appealing. First, when you have limited resources and you spend some of them pursuing a story, you’re under a lot of pressure to get a story. Second, there’s a strong temptation to find ways to capitalize on a current controversy that’s got everyone’s attention.

But really, there’s no story here, and no excuse for trying to create one out of whole cloth.