State Controller asks committee to fund LUMA positions as dedicated fund expires

Legislative Services analyst Frances Lippitt reviewed the State Controller’s Office budget and told the committee that the business information infrastructure fund (BIF), which has continuously appropriated LUMA sustainment costs since 2018, will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. She said the controller’s FY2026 request totals about $15.2 million to bring LUMA development and sustainment costs on budget and to provide funding and positions for the controller’s office.

What the request covers

Lippitt said the request includes seven additional full-time positions (and funding to cover previously authorized but BIF-funded positions) plus a $800,000 request to cover LUMA infrastructure and overhead in the computer service center. She said the combined general-fund cost to bring LUMA on budget is about $9,856,000 and the office also requests a $5.5 million dedicated-fund appropriation for the computer service center; together those amounts total the $15.2 million the analyst described.

Controller Brandon Wolf told the committee the LUMA project currently has about 47 employees working on it, and that the budget request would fund 20 of those positions through appropriations rather than through the expiring BIF. ‘‘If we did not have the funding, then we would almost cut the LUMA team in half,’’ Wolf said, and he warned that cutting staff would jeopardize timely processing of payroll, payments and other financial operations that rely on LUMA. He added that the early national experience with similar statewide ERPs shows many multi-state implementations still have not gone live, and said ‘‘we are on the right path’’ but must secure funding to sustain the team and the system.

Why it matters: audits, reporting and agency support

Committee members raised questions about audit timing and agencies’ ability to close financial books. Wolf acknowledged the state was late closing the books this cycle (the controller said the office’s work to close the books was roughly eight weeks late) and told members that the additional positions and continued investment in training and support are intended to speed agency close processes, restore timely financial reporting, and support single-audit requirements.

Committee members asked for lessons learned from the implementation, and Wolf and staff said they would provide a summary of lessons learned for future projects; Wolf emphasized change management and user training as essential elements to a successful rollout.

Ending

Wolf concluded by thanking staff and committee members and reiterating the office’s request that the committee fund the appropriation to transition LUMA costs from the BIF into the controller’s on-budget appropriations so the program can continue with its current staffing levels.