Virginia's new computer chief is cleaning house, dumping top managers and reorganizing his troubled agency.
Chief information officer George F. Coulter yesterday sacked or reassigned several senior executives of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, according to state government sources.
The casualties apparently include critics of Northrop Grumman, the giant defense and systems-management company hired by the state in 2005 under a controversial 10-year, $2.3 billion contract to run its computer and communications networks.
The shakeup -- coming at the start of Coulter's third week on the job -- is an attempt to extract VITA from months of political turmoil and put back on track a shift to privately managed information-technology services beset by delays and mounting costs.
In an e-mail to VITA employees shortly before 6 p.m. yesterday, Coulter said the change of managers and responsibilities will streamline the agency and improve service.
Without identifying some of the executives he is removing or reassigning, Coulter told the VITA staff: "Four executive-level positions and one executive-support position are being eliminated."
Marcella Williamson, a VITA spokeswoman, said Coulter was not available for comment last night.
Coulter, who came to VITA from the corporate sector and had no experience in government, also hinted at a shuffle in Northrop Grumman management of the Virginia project.
Christy Whitman, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman, declined to comment, saying only that the company and VITA are planning to issue a joint statement today.
Coulter closed his e-mail: "This restructuring, changes expected in the Northrop Grumman program to complement our new organization, and reorganizing into customer teams will greatly increase our ability to better serve our agency customers."
VITA, an initiative of former Gov. Mark R. Warner, now a U.S. senator, has raised questions about the state's aggressive move since the early 1990s toward the outsourcing of government services.
In June, Northrop Grumman was told by VITA that it was in default of its contract, having failed to deliver promised services. The company was directed to submit by late August a plan for rebooting the program.
That plan now is before Coulter, though he has not said whether he believes that it will work or requires modification.
"We are continuing to review the proposal but do not yet have a timeline for changes, modifications or approval," Williamson said in an e-mail yesterday.
Northrop Grumman is pressing the state for additional money, saying it is spending more on the Virginia venture than it gets back. The contract restricts annual payments to the company to $236 million.
In another development yesterday, Coulter announced the formation of a committee of 14 agency information-technology directors to advise him on carrying out the transfer of computer services to Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman has complained about VITA's governance, suggesting the department's oversight board of legislative and gubernatorial appointees is contributing to communications problems between the company and the 84 agencies it is supposed to serve.
Coulter replaced Lemuel C. "Lem" Stewart Jr., who was fired by the VITA board in June after proposing to withhold a $14 million monthly payment to Northrop Grumman for continuing gaps in service.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement