Sarah Clark, nominee for Vermont secretary of administration, outlines agency priorities and ERP modernization

Sarah Clark, the secretary of administration and the governor’s nominee for reconfirmation, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Jan. 31, 2025, that her office focuses on providing the “core services that help government run,” and outlined priorities including a proposed $7.1 million central-office budget, a staffing count the secretary described as roughly 653 employees across the agency, and a multi-year enterprise resource planning modernization that will combine payroll, budgeting and accounting systems.

Clark said during her confirmation hearing, “This is actually my first confirmation hearing, and so I'm really honored to be here,” and described a 21-year state government career that includes roles in budget and finance, the Agency of Human Services, the Department of Buildings and General Services, and time at the Joint Fiscal Office.

The nut graf: Clark told senators the Agency of Administration houses functions that underpin state operations — including risk management, human resources, buildings and grounds, finance and management, the state library and a recovery office — and that changes the agency makes can affect every state employee because the work touches payroll, contracting and service delivery.

In her overview, Clark summarized office responsibilities and recent or proposed changes. She said the secretary’s central office has about 31 positions and that the central-office appropriation submitted with the governor’s budget is about $7,100,000. Clark said some recovery-related positions previously funded by federal pandemic relief or emergency grants are being incorporated into the regular budget, which she described as a move toward transparency so “you can see everybody that’s actually in here working on these efforts.”

Clark also discussed a planned enterprise resource planning, or ERP, modernization intended to integrate the state’s human resources, payroll (VTHR), accounting (Vision) and budgeting (Advantage) systems. She told senators the project is both a technical and business-process modernization and warned it will affect payroll and other core personnel functions for all state employees while calling the effort “an exciting opportunity.”

On policy and oversight tools, Clark referenced two internal guidance documents she said the administration issues: bulletin 3.5 (contracting protocols) and bulletin 5 (grants management). She also told the committee her office will lead an ADA website-compliance initiative in response to updated federal accessibility requirements.

Senators asked for follow-ups. Committee members requested a numeric percentage showing how the central-office request compares with the prior year; Clark said she would “follow up on that” with the committee. Members also asked that Cathy Delnaeus, the state librarian, and other department leaders come before the committee for deeper briefings on the library, naming conventions and other topics. The committee and Clark’s staff agreed to schedule another meeting focused on the budget and to bring additional staff as needed.

No formal confirmation vote or motion was recorded during the hearing. Senators discussed the committee’s usual process for reporting a confirmed appointee to the full Senate and asked procedural questions about how long an interim appointee may serve absent a vote; the committee did not take a formal vote during the session.

Background and context: Clark described her career path and management experience across several executive-branch agencies and emphasized that the Agency of Administration’s work is often behind the scenes — payroll, grants, contracting, fleet and building maintenance — but essential to operations statewide. She said the chief performance office and the Office of Racial Equity have grown in recent years and that the administration has proposed creating a chief communications position in the secretary’s office focused on internal communications and leading the ADA website work.

The committee set several next steps: Clark will provide the budget-percentage calculation the senators requested; committee staff will invite department leaders such as the state librarian for follow-up briefings; and the committee will schedule a subsequent session to walk through the secretary’s budget in more detail.

Ending: The committee did not complete a confirmation vote at the Jan. 31 session. Members indicated they would return to the item after receiving the requested budget details and department briefings; Clark and her staff agreed to coordinate the follow-up materials and appearances.