Privatizing the state's computers systems has already cost Virginia millions more than officials planned, but the lastest hit is surfacing in Staunton.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's budget amendments include a one-time payment of up to $500,000 to the Frontier Culture Museum to cover its ballooning computer expenses since the state turned over computer services to a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman.
The museum used to manage just fine, hiring a smaller contractor to handle its computer and software needs for about $30,000 a year, John Avoli, the museum's executive director, said Thursday.
Once the state's Virginia Information Technologies Agency took control of state computers and hired Northrop Grumman to run them, the museum's costs tripled.
"This gives us money to pay for our VITA bill. If we don't get this money, we're in big trouble," Avoli said.
When costs began rising, Avoli said the state agreed to cover the difference, and did so during the first few years of the contract. But lately, state budget crunches left the bills to pile up.
The museum will receive up to $500,000 to pay off its VITA bill this year, although Avoli added the balance of what it owes is closer to $200,000.
The museum plans to cut back to two computers to reduce its future IT expenses and will share some computer services with its foundation.
"We're not like the DMV," Avoli said. "We can manage with a few computers because most of what we do is Internet research."
The $2.3 billion contract with Northrop Grumman has been plagued with problems.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the General Assembly's investigative arm, has criticized VITA and Northrop Grumman for service outages, delays in service and cost overruns. Last year, the state agreed to extend its contract with Northrop Grumman and pay the company an additional $105 million over the following nine years.
The General Assembly will vote on McDonnell's budget amendments next week.
