[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6323923,"mediaKeyId","2340701-96a6a8e29a2afbe315fbb87f2ad009bf","parentId",2340701,"title","Agency of Digital Services seeks $15 million one-time transfer to smooth FY26 IT chargebacks","audioSeconds",1736,"startMs",691000,"endMs",2427000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2340701-96a6a8e29a2afbe315fbb87f2ad009bf&start=691&end=2427","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2340701-96a6a8e29a2afbe315fbb87f2ad009bf/thumbnail_691000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6323923/Vermont/Agency-of-Digital-Services-seeks-15-million-one-time-transfer-to-smooth-FY26-IT-chargebacks","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6323923-a38337886bd8f031336c96ee97d628ad/orig.mp4?Expires=1773646441&Signature=XHk7cn8Vz8rWvPL09mzBit3SIgUU~rHxh57bpiE1PUY5cfiYYfiIuiSBdRwonouZw0sNMifkcsVStYbBxRvC7anRB4efSkTDTj8Y2xuXob2jW8FnqPNDnp5Duoe7CcAiSWQ5W8dwulpRpXRsJJBZIvID7Wrzn6z2u8zZ11gRGGk65xBToqpqrvgZ478vPqdCq7~h4D5xPyLcE4633KAn0gg8PM5XC4rossI01c9VAJ~HeRqH3YB0vUiIBLSh1tJHgJc~hooExymM3XRitUQRSFVQxDKJ81C8wm0Ipi99KXZ2soiLaZPQRIRVEnNXlmwa6~vNeR3KQQdr9G71g7K2WA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-02-19T06:56:41Z","article","Riley Hughes, secretary of the Agency of Digital Services and Vermont’s chief information officer, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 that ADS is requesting a $15 million one-time transfer to cover fiscal-year 2026 core enterprise services and reduce service-level agreement (SLA) chargebacks that otherwise would be invoiced to agencies in the next fiscal year.

Hughes said ADS is proposing to move to a “core enterprise services” model that separates foundational IT services (a baseline allocation) from demand-driven services that agencies request beyond the baseline. “We would like to actually do the baseline, the foundations as allocation,” Hughes said, arguing that defining a shared set of services will allow ADS to scrutinize and reduce demand spending in future budgets.

Hughes said the agency maps about 12,000 users and currently treats most costs as demand. The requested $15 million transfer, she said, would buy down SLA charges that are effectively being consumed in FY26 but invoiced in FY27, and would prevent agencies from being charged twice for the same work. Hughes characterized the $15 million as a one-time transfer; she also described a larger $42 million figure shown in presentation materials as an accounting depiction of overall costs but emphasized the transfer being requested to avoid duplicative invoicing.

ADS told the committee that demand-driven SLA spending accounts for the majority of ADS’ FY26 budget picture and that the agency wants to establish clearer foundations — network access, identity and security, email and productivity tools (OneDrive, SharePoint), help desk and device support, data security, and data-center essentials — so those baseline services are consistently available across agencies.

Committee members questioned how demand is assessed and how ADS will manage IT asset inventory and license usage. Hughes acknowledged current limitations: ADS uses spreadsheets for much of its recovery and billing work and lacks a full asset-management mechanism to reclaim unused licenses or verify ongoing need. She said the ERP system the state is planning will help but will take about four years and that ADS wants tools sooner.

Additional clarifying details given in testimony include: ADS currently uses two standard chargeback rates referenced in the presentation ($88 and $84), it estimates roughly 92% of the budget is demand-driven, and ADS plans to spread some technical staff into ADS so their time is treated as shared services rather than agency-specific chargebacks. Hughes said the requested structural change will reduce future SLA lines in agency budgets once the FY27 planning cycle accounts for the new model.

No formal committee action or vote on the transfer request was recorded at the hearing. Hughes said ADS and the Joint Fiscal Office will meet to review detailed numbers; she asked the committee to consider the one-time transfer to avoid placing duplicative costs on agency business offices.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Appropriations – 2025-02-18 – 1:10PM","oneSentenceSummary","Secretary Riley Hughes told the Senate Appropriations Committee ADS plans to move to a core enterprise services model and requests a $15 million one-time transfer to buy down invoiced SLA charges so agencies are not double-billed in FY26; broader reform to billing and asset management is planned for FY27.","taxTitle","Appropriations, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",36948,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6323927,"Vermont Human Rights Commission warns of staffing shortfall and longer case backlogs in FY26 budget testimony",0,1698000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2340701-96a6a8e29a2afbe315fbb87f2ad009bf&start=1698&end=1698","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2340701-96a6a8e29a2afbe315fbb87f2ad009bf/thumbnail_1698000.jpg","/articles/6323927/Vermont/Vermont-Human-Rights-Commission-warns-of-staffing-shortfall-and-longer-case-backlogs-in-FY26-budget-testimony","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6323927-bc548bd4d4201c3cd4000e9bead5bf09/orig.mp4?Expires=1773646441&Signature=Ng0plVUk3tLfuiQfjwOnzkHUYvIXzVuxtaGe6UwBCnwL5Cd68L5aLwbi7SA4phXzvQ19ITBW3Ck4ogmNfuuZgpGyJGWxmvYHF0A7s3cJyWuQRZP7Ga9GGD8BK-KmgQSoHRUPq7TJWdnZcGLDiA3xwk9Zj7gtEB0~y0OCP12fyTVa32T6ToJs4J~yE85lgFK77At1TO8CsqdH-8Ys5DbKidKeE-OPNrQUFf6rCZ7U9zaJSmgoB0EOIgw5~-m5KOO61HdpoOY~ZrBkBBg0yfLLAu9O4pJJZ09N0EELzTah4eNbfnxItAx9nLlyGJN7xomH1xZu3HQ1L8-ttk0TuxTJ7g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jay Hartman, executive director and general counsel of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, told the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Feb. 18 that the commission is facing a staffing and funding squeeze that is lengthening case processing times and limiting preventive outreach. Hartman said the commission currently has seven full-time staff, relies almost entirely on the state general fund, and that roughly 8% of its budget comes from federal funds tied to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development contract for fair-housing work.

Hartman said the commission continues to see heavy demand: “We get over a hundred requests a month for new complaints,” he said, and the agency accepted 59 new complaints for investigation in fiscal year 2024. He reported the commission closed 42 cases that year; 33 were brought to a commission meeting and 22 of those were found to have reasonable grounds to believe discrimination occurred. The commission’s average age to close an investigation fell from 649 days in FY23 to 474 days in FY24, but Hartman said that remains far above the HUD target and the timelines the commission would like to meet.

The commission’s nut graf: Hartman said roughly 90% of the agency’s budget pays salaries and benefits, leaving little flexibility to reallocate funds to investigative capacity or outreach. He told the committee that without more investigators and an intake specialist the commission will continue to turn people away and will struggle to reduce delays.

Hartman described personnel turnover and investigator burnout as core drivers of the backlog: “I’ve been with the commission since 2021 and I’ve seen seven people leave in that time,” he said. He said the office currently has three investigators and has proposed adding three investigators (doubling investigative capacity) plus additional positions in a separate memo to the committee and through pending legislation (referred to in his testimony as a bill expected to be considered this year). Hartman said an intake specialist would help prevent complaints from being lost in intake and make the caseload more manageable.

Hartman also warned the committee that federal funding is uncertain. “As we sit here today, we really don’t know what the future of that funding is for the year ahead,” he said, noting press reports that HUD and other federal programs face possible cuts that could affect the commission’s HUD contract funding.

Committee members questioned the commission’s performance relative to HUD expectations. Hartman said HUD considers cases aged at 200 days and expects closures within about 100 days; he acknowledged the commission did not meet the 100-day target for any case in FY24 and that most investigations still average roughly 400 days. He attributed slower timelines to the commission’s more intensive investigative practices (live interviews and comprehensive reports), staff turnover, and insufficient staffing.

Hartman explained a budget-line reclassification for a litigation position that moved costs from an \"other personal services\" line into salary and benefit lines and flagged a vacancy turnover savings line carried in the budget. He said he had submitted a memo describing eight additional positions requested from the governor’s office that were not included in the executive proposal, and that a separate bill (discussed but not named in the hearing) might include those positions.

Hartman closed by asking for committee consideration of additional positions and operating expenses to support investigators and intake work; no formal committee vote or action on the commission’s requests was recorded during the hearing.

The commission’s testimony included specific data on cases, staffing, average case age, and funding sources; Hartman asked the committee to consider those measures when weighing supplemental or FY26 funding.","The Vermont Human Rights Commission told the Senate Appropriations Committee it needs more investigators and an intake specialist to reduce a growing backlog and meet federal fair-housing timelines, and flagged uncertain HUD funding.","actionData","errors"]

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Agency of Digital Services seeks $15 million one-time transfer to smooth FY26 IT chargebacks

Vermont Human Rights Commission warns of staffing shortfall and longer case backlogs in FY26 budget testimony