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State controller asks lawmakers to bring LUMA ERP on-budget; warns service risk if funding lapses
Summary
State Controller Brandon Wolf asked the Joint Finance–Appropriations Committee to fund positions and operating costs needed to keep the LUMA enterprise resource system functioning after the dedicated Business Information Infrastructure Fund expires June 30; he warned that without funding, the team supporting the system would be substantially cut.
State Controller Brandon Wolf told the Joint Finance–Appropriations Committee on Monday that the office needs a combination of permanent positions and operating appropriation to transition the statewide enterprise resource system known as LUMA from a dedicated implementation fund onto the controller’s budget.
Analyst Frances Lippitt told the committee the Business Information Infrastructure Fund (BIF) that has continuously funded LUMA implementation will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The controller’s request for FY2026 includes 7 additional full-time positions and roughly $15.2 million in general-fund appropriation to bring LUMA sustainment and personnel onto the agency’s appropriation. The request also includes approximately $5.5 million in dedicated fund appropriation for the computer service center, which will bill agencies for infrastructure and enhancement work.
Wolf said LUMA is already supporting state functions but remains a multi-year implementation. He told lawmakers the controller’s office currently has 47 employees working on LUMA; of the positions the office sought funding for earlier, 13 were approved as positions but not funded through the BIF, and the FY2026 request finances 20 positions that are already performing LUMA work. “If you think about that, 20 of the positions, if we did not have the funding, then we would almost cut the LUMA team in half,” Wolf said, adding that a reduction of that magnitude would put core services at risk.
Lawmakers raised operational concerns, including audit timeliness and agency support. Wolf acknowledged the transition has strained audit and close processes; he said closing the books this year ran about eight weeks behind schedule but contended the state’s implementation pace for a project of this size was faster than peers and that the system “is functioning. It is working.” He and committee members said continued training, documentation and change management are priorities to stabilize operations.
The controller’s office also requested two financial specialists to offer shared-services processing for smaller agencies and a communications manager to support transparency tools such as Transparent Idaho and Town Hall Idaho. The governor recommended the requested enhancements.
No formal vote was taken. Committee members pressed for continued reporting on progress and asked the controller for lessons learned that could guide future state technology projects.
