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DEW to modernize benefit and tax systems; agency using surplus‑property sales to fund upgrades
Summary
Director Cheryl Stanton said South Carolina will roll out a modernized unemployment benefit system this summer, followed by a tax system update, using proceeds from surplus property sales to pay for the tax system and avoid requests for general funds.
Cheryl Stanton told the committee the department is near deployment on two IT modernization efforts: a benefit system scheduled to go live in South Carolina this summer and a tax system to follow. The project is a multi‑state collaboration with North Carolina and Georgia, Stanton said, and North Carolina’s early participation reduced costs and provided shared subject‑matter expertise.
Stanton said the agency structured contracts on a fixed‑price, back‑end delivery model: the state pays for completed, working product rather than hourly time and materials. "We pay for the product we get," she said, explaining why contract payments lag delivered functionality. She added the agency had not requested additional legislative funds and that the tax‑system modernization will be funded in part from proceeds of surplus property sales.
On surplus real estate, Stanton said the department has sold several buildings and worked with the Department of Administration and CBRE to market remaining properties; proceeds have funded IT projects and returned roughly $9,000,000 to the agency. She said the agency defers to DOA on appraisal and sales procedures and follows state and federal rules for properties originally purchased with federal funds.
Lawmakers asked whether the fixed‑price structure would protect the state from cost overruns; Stanton said the structure limits state payment until milestones are met and that the multi‑state approach provided both cost and technical benefits. Committee members requested a timeline and updated expenditures for the modernization work and the status of the vendor RFPs; Stanton agreed to provide follow‑up information.
