MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – What will it take to bring state computer systems up to snuff to better serve Vermonters? The state is embarking on a massive multimillion-dollar overhaul of its IT systems aimed at making government more efficient.
It’s no secret Vermont’s internal computers are due for an upgrade. A computer at the Department of Labor was responsible for headaches and heartbreak when a crush of unemployment claims repeatedly crashed the system, causing Vermonters to go weeks without pay.
“The pandemic exacerbated a lot of that where how we needed to function and what tech we needed to function with, we could not make those changes in the legacy systems,” Vt. Digital Services Secretary Denise Reilly-Hughes said.
For the last decade, Vermont has been building programs in decades-old state systems. But now, the government wants to turn a corner and launch a massive upgrade of state software for budgeting, finances, human resources and the Department of Labor.
The plan would outsource IT onto the cloud through Workday with taxpayers paying for the subscription.
The intention is to serve Vermonters more efficiently now that many work remotely.
“It touches every department and agency and every branch of government and every user under the state of Vermont,” Reilly-Hughes said.
But some, including state Rep. Seth Chase who works in IT, question whether the system will live up to its promise.
“The risks that we’re facing is that just making sure when it’s built it meets the needs of every agency, of every branch and says what it does on the TIN,” said Chase, D-Colchester.
But leaders are confident the investment will pay off and IT will be able to integrate across state government.
“The goal is not to stand up tech first, we just want to make sure the technology matches the outcome which I believe we’ve made the right decisions to get us there,” Reilly-Hughes said.
The Legislature’s IT oversight committee recently greenlit $11.8 million to begin setting the plan into motion. It will take about four years for the entire system to be built out.