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DEW says surplus property sales and multi‑state contracts will fund IT upgrades
Summary
Director Stanton told the committee DEW has sold surplus properties and is using proceeds (about $9 million) to purchase modernized tax and benefits systems, part of a multi‑state procurement with North Carolina and Georgia on a fixed‑price, deliverable basis.
Director Cheryl Stanton told lawmakers the department has pursued an aggressive surplus‑property program and, following a statewide executive order, has sold properties that generated roughly $9 million for the agency. Stanton said that money — federal funds originally used to buy buildings in past decades — is being used to purchase a modernized tax system and related IT upgrades so the agency avoids asking the General Assembly for additional general funds.
On the benefit and tax modernization projects, Stanton said DEW is working with other states on a shared procurement. She described fixed‑price, deliverable‑based contracts that pay for working product rather than time and materials: "we pay for the product we get," she said, and noted the agency has paid about 26 percent of the contract value even though the project completion percentage appears higher on internal tracking. Stanton said the benefit modernization is scheduled to go live this summer, with North Carolina and Georgia participating in the shared approach.
Lawmakers asked about funding contingencies. Stanton said the contract structure and the use of sale proceeds reduce the need to seek additional state funds but that the agency will continue to consult the Department of Labor and state procurement officials on timing and implementation.
