Layoffs at tech firm? (Homeland Security contractor)

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2005/03/25/news/news04.txt

excerpt:

Reports that the high-tech firm was having difficulty fulfilling all its obligations surfaced during a meeting with the Flathead County commissioners on Tuesday.


Tom Reynolds, program manager of the county's GIS department, told the commissioners that Positive Systems was awarded a $180,000 Homeland Security contract last year to provide aerial imagery of 13 populated areas across Montana, including portions of Flathead County.

<snip>

"Positive Systems went bankrupt doing this," he told the commissioners. "They laid off their entire staff about two-and-a-half weeks ago, defaulted on 14 contracts throughout the country. The employees said they hadn't been paid for the entire month of February."

<snip>

Mike Boyer, the head of Montana's Information Technology Services Division -- which includes the GIS Bureau -- said Positive Systems informed the state about two weeks ago that it was suspending operations on the remainder of the Homeland Security contract.

...more...

I'm not sure what you could get done for that scratch, actually.

that wouldn't even cover the cost of a couple good technicians for a year, much less satellite imaging.

We haven't seen the SOW or anything.

"aerial imaging" doesn't imply the use of satellites, and it
could be a one time baseline study. At that, given the size of
counties in the Western states, an aerial survey might or might
not be possible for a few hundred thou.

It's unlikely that some sort of periodic remote sensing project
of a land area of that size (much less a continuous imaging) would
even be undertaken for that small sum. What the local counties are
spending their "homeland security" grants on has bordered on the
insane ( everything from sending a collection of sheriffs deputies
to a seminar on terrorist threats to nuclear and large industrial
plants - from a county that DOESN'T HAVE any significant industry -
to a county buying a state of the art fire truck capable of fighting
fires on buildings up to 20 stories tall - in a county that doesn't
have a single 3 story building)... the whole thing is a complete
mess and riddled with graft and inefficiency... and $180K to do
some sort of aerial survey sounds like just another bumblefuck.

Your tax dollars at work!

on that kind of money these days.

my guess is that it's a one time aerial survey to locate trails
and such.

And that seems like both a lot of money for this (depending on
the level of detail required)... AND it is most certainly a waste
of Dept. of Homeland Security money. I'm sure that it could be better
spent elsewhere, even if it's only a down payment on a cargo container
nuke scanner.