PROVIDENCE – Citing a series of administrative blunders,
Gov. Daniel J. McKee fired R.I. Department of Administration Director Jonathan Womer.
Womer’s, who submitted his resignation at McKee's request, will remain available for consultation for 60 days to assist with the transition. McKee named R.I. Department of Revenue Director Tom Verdi as interim director.
“Our employees trust the Department of Administration to handle their pay and personal information with the highest level of care,” said McKee.
In a press release on March 6, the administration said McKee's requested Womer’s resignation because of ongoing issues with the rollout of the state’s Enterprise Resource Planning system, which have raised concerns about the management of state employees’ personally identifiable information and state IT systems overall.
The new cloud-based payroll system, part of a roughly $95 million upgrade to the state's IT infrastructure, has been plagued with problems since its launch in December 2025, including miscalculated pay, overtime and tax deductions.
The reissued W-2C tax forms were later mailed out but potentially exposed employee social security numbers that were partly visible through the envelopes.
The state is now offering free credit monitoring to current and former state employees who received the corrected forms.
“This transition is about ensuring that state government operates the way our employees and taxpayers expect and deserve," McKee said. “We will continue working urgently to address these operational challenges, support our employees, and ensure the Department of Administration delivers the reliable services that state government depends on."
Womer, whose received a salary of $194,887.94, according to state payroll data, had replaced former director James Thorsen, who resigned in March 2023.
Thorsen's exit came after a business trip with
the state’s former property director David Patten to Philadelphia to meet with a local real estate firm
Scout Ltd. to discuss the redevelopment of the Cranston Street Armory resulted in scandal.
An email to McKee from Scout Ltd. that was later released claimed that Patten displayed “blatantly sexist, racist and unprofessional” behavior.
In 2024 Patten settled with the nine-member R.I. Ethics Commission and paid a $5,000 fine.
Thorsen admitted no wrongdoing and is scheduled to go before the commission on March 17 to try and clear his name. If found guilty of ethical misconduct he faces a maximum $52,000 in fines.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
