A company that drew headlines recently for proposing to do some Montana tax-funded computer programming with foreign workers overseas intends to complete more than three-quarters of the work here in Montana.

That information came out at a meeting Monday of the Legislature’s Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee, a panel of lawmakers that meets between legislative sessions to discuss human services issues.

On tap Monday was a human services issue at its most basic: a contract to build a computer program to run Montana’s food stamp and cash welfare assistance programs, known by their acronyms as SNAP and TANF, respectively.

The top-ranking firm to do the work is Deloitte, a global services company that included in its proposal the intent to do some of Montana’s IT work by foreign overseas workers. Another company, Northrop Grumman, had proposed doing the same work for less money with only its Montana employees.

But as agency officials told lawmakers Monday, the Montana-only program would cost more over the life of the software and may not be what the federal government has required in SNAP and TANF administration.

What’s more, said Sheryl Olson, deputy director of the Montana Department of Administration, Deloitte is going to do 78 percent of the work with Montana employees. The company already has 10 employees in Montana and intends to hire 20 more.

Northrop Grumman has placed nine of its Montana employees on unpaid furlough after it was not the top-ranked company for the contract.

By that math, hiring Deloitte may employ more Montanans than keeping Northrop Grumman, which is the contractor on the software currently running SNAP and TANF.

Deloitte’s 78 percent Montana-made figure also means the company could apply to become a “Made In Montana” entity and place “Made In Montana” stickers on its products.

Northrop Grumman’s 125-person Helena branch is already a “Made In Montana” entity.

State law requires that companies do at least 50 percent of their work in Montana to qualify as a “Made In Montana” entity.

Sen. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, and a member of the committee, said she is philosophically opposed to sending tax-funded work to overseas workers. However, she said she believes Montana firms may not have been able to meet the technical requirements of what Montana is seeking to run SNAP and TANF.

“I don’t think we probably have that in Montana,” she said, adding that ordinarily she believes it’s better to “put Montanans to work” when the state is seeking some kind of good or service.

Asked if he was fundamentally opposed to off-shoring tax-funded work, Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings, said he thought that was a “loaded question.”

However, he, too, said he was satisfied with the explanations provided Monday that the state has made the right choice with Deloitte.

“I just wanted to be assured that, long-term, Montanans were getting a good deal,” he said.

Brown had asked Anna Whiting Sorrell, director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, if Deloitte was selling Montana a “BMW” when a “Chevy” would have worked just as well.

Reporter Jennifer McKee: 447-4069 or jennifer.mckee@lee.net

Related

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• Governor: Off-shore jobs not a factor
• Northrop Grumman confirms nine furloughs
• Winning DPHHS bid $6M higher than state firm’s offer
• State agency ready to sign deal that would take jobs out of state
• State’s POINTS system manager says off-shore jobs were problem