MMB outlines ERP upgrades, cloud migration and budget recommendations to committee

Deputy Commissioners told the State Government Finance and Policy Committee on March 4 that funding from the 2023 state government omnibus bill has stabilized Minnesota's enterprise resource planning systems and funded several new functions at Minnesota Management and Budget.

Britta Rayton, deputy commissioner at MMB, said the 2023 omnibus appropriations provided sustainable funding in 2024–25 to stabilize enterprise systems that had previously been maintained on a cadence of "scraping by." Rayton said the appropriation was front-loaded in 2024–25 with the expectation that those funds would be spent over a four-year period. The agency has prioritized deferred maintenance and is "nearing completion" of bringing systems into supported status; a phased upgrade to the state's data warehouse is expected to finish in the next few months, she said.

Rayton said MMB is migrating on-site data centers and hardware to cloud hosting, with a target to complete the full transition in 2026. She described the migration as intended to deliver security improvements, cost savings and operational efficiencies. As an example of security work already completed, Rayton noted deployment of multi-factor authentication for the state's supplier portal within SWIFT, the state's financial system.

Rayton identified current projects including development of a new job application system and a financial planning and analysis tool. She said MMB is shifting to a product model with increased customer engagement with agency partners to prioritize improvements that respond to day-to-day user needs.

Rayton also described three organizational additions funded after the 2023 session: an internal audit unit to provide audit and advisory services to smaller agencies, a dedicated banking unit to manage the state's banking operations and improve reconciliation and cash-management integrations, and a federal funds implementation team focused on maximizing federal investments.

Rayton and Andrew Bentley, deputy commissioner overseeing planning and policy, also reviewed cross-agency work. Bentley described a long-range planning team of 11.5 staff that will engage Minnesotans and regional partners for long-term planning, and he summarized the Office of Addiction and Recovery's role in coordinating the state's naloxone saturation strategy and other efforts related to substance use disorder.

On budget recommendations, MMB presented an operating adjustment request to cover rising costs (healthcare, FICA/Medicare, utilities, IT and compensation) and an oversight package that includes additional staff for internal controls and statewide payroll services. Bentley outlined three additional staffing requests for internal controls, payroll, enterprise labor relations and accounting services, and described proposed reductions intended to create savings, including canceling and reappropriating a portion of DCYF transition funds to permit federal matching funds and a proposed reduction for the data disaggregation project.

Rayton said the DCYF implementation office had coordinated hiring and transfers for the new Department of Children, Youth and Families and that much of a $10 million appropriation remained unspent because certain costs will be realized in the next biennium.

Chair Nash thanked the deputies and said he will discuss the ERP transition with agency staff; Representative Bonner and other members commended the agency's technology work, citing visible improvements such as cloud migration and multi-factor authentication. The committee did not take formal votes on the budget recommendations in the hearing.

Ending: Committee members requested follow-up conversations and more detail on ERP timing and budget impacts; agency staff said they would meet with members and provide additional information.