Virginia’s expensive new state IT system does not have network backups in case connections between its computers fail. In just five weeks this fall, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles suffered 12 computer system outages, putting individual offices out of business for a total of more than 100 hours. One outage lasted 29 hours, another 17.

The 2003 Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) initiative and 2005 partnership contract with Northrop Grumman were primarily based on two assumptions: (1) The state’s information technology (IT) was outdated and inefficient, and (2) VITA and the partnership would save money. While working as an IT professional for VCU, community colleges, the Department of Information Technology (DIT), and VITA, it was my privilege to witness our commonwealth’s pre-VITA history of technology leadership. In the early 1970s, Virginia was one of the first states to consolidate agency IT resources to improve efficiency. In 1998, Virginia led the nation when then-Gov. Jim Gilmore appointed Don Upson as the first cabinet-level secretary of technology.

RICHMOND, VA—Despite warnings from lawmakers to back off, the state’s computer chief quietly reopened negotiations with Northrop Grumman over additional services that could add millions to Virginia’s information-technology bill. State officials yesterday could not provide the cost but said it might be lower than an estimate this summer by General Assembly investigators of $30 million to $40 million.

While acknowledging parts of a Northrop Grumman fix-it plan for the government’s troubled IT network could work, Virginia is not retreating from its claim that the giant company has violated its contract with the state. Northrop Grumman, hired under a 10-year, $2.3 billion contract that is at least a year behind schedule, is asking for more time and a freer hand to complete Virginia’s switch to a privately managed information-technology system.

Extra computers are headed to health offices as part of Virginia’s response to swine flu after the company providing IT services to the state initially resisted supplying the gear because it was uncertain it would be paid. Northrop Grumman attributes the holdup to a misunderstanding. The Virginia Health Department blames confusion that, once cleared up, led to a better deal for the agency.

FAIRFAX The ground was soft and muddy, but the atmosphere was jovial. Gov. Tim Kaine and then-Attorney General Bob McDonnell were in attendance. Fried pies were being served and bluegrass music was playing under the big tent. This was the scene of the 2006 groundbreaking for Northrop Grumman’s new IT facility being built in the town of Lebanon. And this momentous occasion—along with the hundreds of new jobs that came with it—was a result of the IT Infrastructure Partnership between the company and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA).

Lawmakers are warning the state’s computer chief and Northrop Grumman against ramming through potentially pricey changes in a disputed contract ahead of a looming shakeup in Virginia’s information-technology bureaucracy. Though by law it falls to Chief Information Officer George F. Coulter to accept or reject revisions, he and Northrop Grumman’s Virginia project boss, Samuel Abbate, were told modifications should be vetted by the next governor and General Assembly.

State lawmakers are floating the idea of using the budget as a hammer to force the state’s IT contractor to make do with $236 million in annual payments. Members of the House Appropriations Committee yesterday criticized both the state and Northrop Grumman during a nearly two-hour report on a state watchdog group’s investigation of the state’s privatization deal. The budget writers spread the blame—poking at everything from the state’s lack of an accurate count of its equipment to murky language in the contract with Northrop Grumman.

When stories of troubles involving the Virginia Information Technologies Agency and Northrop Grumman first broke, we suspended judgment. We preferred to wait until the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission investigated the situation and issued a report. Last week JLARC released findings. The partnership is not living up to expectations. Although responsibility for the glitches (and worse) is shared, Northrop Grumman bears the greater burden.

Lobbyists and executives for Northrop Grumman are quietly pressing General Assembly investigators to soften a report that was sharply critical of the company for failing to deliver computer services to the state on time. Northrop Grumman representatives met privately yesterday for more than two hours with staff members of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to discuss possible revisions in JLARC’s findings.

On the heels of a report depicting the state’s IT contract as bungled, the board overseeing the Virginia computer bureaucracy yesterday dissolved into disagreement over greater control in agency decisions. Citing the abrupt firing of several top executives critical of the company that runs the state’s information-technology systems, legislative appointees to the board governing the Virginia Information Technologies Agency pressed for a requirement that the agency’s new chief notify the panel of any major changes.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and legislators are warning the state’s computer contractor, Northrop Grumman, that they won’t allow Virginia’s privately run IT system to become a money pit. Following the release yesterday of a General Assembly report sharply critical of Northrop Grumman and the state’s information-technology bureaucracy, lawmakers told the company that righting the embattled, 10-year, $2.3 billion project should not come at additional cost, particularly when Virginia is slashing spending by billions to balance its budget.

The finger-pointing over Virginia’s troubled move to a privately run IT system is extending to the governor’s race. Democrat R. Creigh Deeds—in response to a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report critical of the state’s contract with Northrop Grumman—blamed Republican Bob McDonnell for headaches surrounding the deal.

Despite turmoil within its information-technology program and the potential for more, Virginia may not have the money to dump Northrop Grumman as its computer contractor and fashion an alternative, General Assembly investigators warn. In a sweeping examination of Virginia’s troubled contract with Northrop Grumman, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission also proposes turning over control of the state’s IT agency to the governor by allowing him to choose its chief. That would end the current structure of shared oversight by the chief executive and lawmakers.

Coulter In nearly seven weeks on the job, Virginia’s new computer boss has sacked top executives, worked to strengthen ties to state agencies and taken steps to prevent interruptions in IT services that have ranged from hiccups to complete shutdowns. But Chief Information Officer George F. Coulter said he’s just starting to leaf through the voluminous contract that binds the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to its giant, embattled contractor, Northrop Grumman.