JEFF E. SCHAPIRO TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: June 16, 2009
Lawmakers will investigate the state's troubled information technology agency, spurred by the removal of its boss and questions about the $2.3 billion Virginia is paying Northrop Grumman for computer services.
A state Senate panel that oversees government operations will conduct the inquiry and report to the Senate Finance Committee, whose chairman, Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, ordered the review.
"I believe the full committee would benefit from a discussion of the issues and allegations," Colgan said in a letter Friday to Sen. Yvonne B. Miller, D-Norfolk, head of the general-government subcommittee.
The investigation, disclosed yesterday, follows the removal Wednesday of Lemuel C. Stewart Jr. as director of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. He was dumped after he alleged that Northrop Grumman is failing to provide the state with full computer, software and maintenance services.
"We have nothing to hide, and we have no problem answering the legislature's questions," said James F. McGuirk II, chairman of the Information Technology Investment Board, which voted to drop Stewart from his $189,280-a-year job as chief information officer.
Christy Whitman, a spokeswoman for Northrop Grumman, said the company has "not been contacted about the investigation, but we continue to support the customer," a reference to VITA.
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to discuss the controversy engulfing VITA at a meeting Thursday. The money panel will hear from the staff of the General Assembly's watchdog agency, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which has been monitoring implementation of the 10-year contract with Northrop Grumman.
Miller's subcommittee begins its work at a meeting June 29. It was not immediately clear when the subcommittee would turn over its findings to the Finance Committee.
Del. M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights and the JLARC chairman, said the concern about VITA -- an initiative of Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner -- is growing.
"We hoped when VITA came in, it would be a little removed from politics, and I think it's almost gotten to be the opposite," Cox said.
Republicans have expressed alarm over the selection of Secretary of Technology Leonard M. "Len" Pomata as Stewart's temporary successor. They question whether a political appointee of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine can serve simultaneously as head of an agency that, by law, is independent of the executive branch.
Kaine defended the selection and said Pomata will bring to VITA "the skill set that's needed at this point."
Under VITA, the Warner administration envisioned consolidating IT services previously left to individual agencies. The umbrella approach, Warner claimed, could save taxpayers $100 million.
Stewart apparently had expressed concerns for more than a year about the Northrop Grumman contract and had withheld payments to the company, usually in amounts of $600,000 to $700,000, on items such as modifications to VITA offices in Chesterfield and Russell counties and a procedures manual for employees.
Because of his continuing questions about the adequacy of documentation by Northrop Grumman in the bills its submits to the state, Stewart urged freezing a monthly payment of just more than $14 million. That recommendation preceded his removal.
The Northrop Grumman contract, now in its third year, is the biggest privatization pact issued by Virginia government. The contract is financed with fees imposed on agencies for IT services. But the charges are insufficient, resulting in a continuing shortfall -- $6.2 million, according to Stewart's final briefing to the VITA governing board.
The dispute over VITA is being monitored by the gubernatorial candidates, Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell. As legislators, both backed its creation.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
By Staff Reports in the Times-Dispatch
Published: June 17, 2009
There might be a perfectly logical and reasonable explanation as to why Lemuel Stewart Jr. was sacked from his position as head of the Virginia Information Technology Agency -- mere hours after he questioned whether $2.3 billion IT contractor Northrop Grumman is meeting the terms of its contract -- and replaced by Secretary of Techonology Len Pomata, who reportedly disputed Stewart's take on Northrop Grumman. But it still looks fishy.
Pomata could be absolutely right. Stewart could be absolutely wrong (though he does seem to have support from a JLARC report released late last year detailing the rocky performance of the effort, launched by Mark Warner's administration, to centralize and privatize the state's information infrastructure).
Perhaps those who find the affair suspicious simply have seen too many Hollywood thrillers in which powerful corporate interests try to silence a whistleblower. Or perhaps not. We've heard enough conspiracy theories to know most of them are bunk. We've also heard enough official explanations to know they often conceal as much as they reveal.
Lawmakers have launched an investigation. Let's hope they realize they won't put the matter to rest unless they clear the air by disclosing, promptly and fully, everything they find out.
The observation also applies to an auditor's report regarding the Statewide Agencies Radio System. The radio millions may not be so great as the VITA billions but the questions trouble nevertheless. Stories such as these could put the state's reputation for good management at risk. Clear the air.
Although it all sounded like Lem was canned rather suddenly, the interim CIO said the following in a VITA newsletter:
"I am pleased to join VITA as Interim CIO, and to be part of the VITA team. I will do my very best to make VITA even more successful in the weeks and months ahead. I will serve as Interim CIO until the ITIB selects a permanent CIO. That process has been underway for several months, and the ITIB has a search firm assisting with the recruiting and hiring process. A permanent CIO should be selected some time this summer. "
Sounds like it wasn't that big a surprise to anyone but the public...
Post a Comment