Six hundred workers are processing government pension papers in an underground bunker entirely by hand in a staggering example of state inefficiency that is costing taxpayers millions.
Staff at what has been dubbed the ‘Crazy Cave’ take up to 61 days just to deal with one single case because of the archaic process that is the same speed as 37 years ago.
Each file is sent in on paper, entered into a computer, printed out on paper - and then put back into a computer again.
Endless: The underground cavern where hundreds of workers process government forms by hand
Bosses have been asking for things to be automated since 1979 but nothing has been done despite $100m being spent to see if it was possible.
The cave is so badly run that the cost of processing each claim - at least 100,000 a year - has even increased from $82 to $108 over the years.
Federal retirees also suffer because it takes months for them to get their benefit cheques whereas it should take a matter of days.
The cave is located in Boyers, PA, and in its report the Washington Post called it the ‘sinkhole of bureaucracy’, noting that among government workers in America it has taken on the status of a near urban myth.
The site sits 230ft below the surface and is a room the size of a supermarket with enough space for cabinets that can house 28,000 files.
The US government bought it in 1958 to hold personnel files that were being relocated and leased the site after it had been developed by a private company.
Highly secretive: The 'crazy cave' is tucked away in a secluded spot in rural Pennsylvania
Today it is owned by Iron Mountain, which has other caverns in the same mountain that it uses to store old Hollywood film reels.
James W. Morrison Jr., who was in charge of the cave during the Reagan administration, said: ‘The need for automation was clear - in 1981.
‘After a year, I thought, ‘God, my reputation will be ruined if we don’t fix this’’.
After being told that it still relies on paper, he said: ‘Wow’.
The Washington Post reported that the process begins when a federal retiree files his papers to get his or her pension.
Once it arrives in the mine, the papers are matched up with their records then scanned into a digital archive.
The documents are printed out again and put back in the files before staff go through the lengthy process of chasing up any missing information with various government agencies.
When everything is in place workers then put all the new documents back into the digitized version.
Bonnie McCandless, the president of the mine’s local trade union, said: ‘You can do a case in as little as an hour, or you can do a case as long as eight hours, or two days.’
An armada: The trucks full of paperwork come down the remote country road leading to the cave every day
On average one case takes at least 61 days, which is the same amount of time it took back in 1977.
State retirement systems are much quicker because they are digitized - Texas takes just two days to complete the process and California teachers get their done in 23 days.
Officials say that the job is complex because it involves navigating decades of pension rules and that government departments take a long time to provide information.
Yet incredibly the number of staff working in the mine has increased by at least 200 people in the past five years.
Patty DeCaria, 57, who retired last year after 38 years in the mine, said that people tend to stay put there for decades.
She said: ‘Nobody up there goes on to another job. You can work Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. . . . There’s mostly overtime, if you want it.
‘They’re really flexible about using leave. People don’t leave Boyers’.
In a statement Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta admitted that things needed to change.
She said: ‘I do not believe that the current level of service is acceptable.’
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