FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2008
Contact: Michael DiResto, 225-342-7158
Commissioner Davis releases information on hiring freeze
Baton Rouge – Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis today released a first report of information pertaining to the limited state government hiring freeze, enacted by Gov. Bobby Jindal by executive order on January 15, his first full day in office.
The executive order authorized Commissioner Davis to grant hiring exemptions “on a case by case basis or by category,” and on January 17 the commissioner issued to state departments and agencies implementation guidelines for the exemption request process, consisting of a full, written, 10-point justification for the request, along with a notification that “only critical positions will be approved.”
Information relevant to Executive Order BJ 2008-03, “Limited Hiring Freeze”
Vacant positions in state government, as of December 2007: 4,089
Positionexemption requests received, as of today: 488
Position exemptions approved: 140
Positions requested that were not approved: 87
Position exemption requests under review by Office of Planning and Budget: 261
Significant components of the reported numbers
53 of the position exemptions approved are for temporary, seasonal tax-related positions at the Department of Revenue
52 of the position exemptions approved are for security and public safety personnel at the Department of Corrections (46 Correctional Security Officers, 6 Probation and Parole Officers)
180 position exemption requests are from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 175 of which are still under review
46 position exemption requests, all still under review, are from the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism
Commissioner Davis released the following statement along with today’s report:
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“This initial report shows that the hiring freeze is working and that we have successfully begun to execute Gov. Jindal’s order to limit the growth in government positions and to reach the goal of saving taxpayers at least $25 million. It also shows that the process for approving only critical positions, while subject to meticulous scrutiny, is working efficiently and effectively. To me, perhaps the most important item in this initial report is the number of requests compared to total number of vacancies, in that, as a result of great cooperation from Gov. Jindal's cabinet secretaries, the very existence of the hiring freeze appears to have restrained even the attempt to fill positions.
“And it’s crucial to understand the context of this hiring freeze and why it’s important. To start, even if you discount hurricane-related federal funding, between 2001 and 2008, Louisiana government expenditures increased by $4 billion or 42 percent. Last year alone, the state authorized 1,771 new jobs. We must begin to get a handle on this type of growth, and we can begin with these 4,089 vacancies, all of which I view as potential opportunities to begin saving money.
“While much attention is given to the state’s current surplus and excess revenue, not enough concern, in my view, is given to the fact that just a few years from now our state budget is projected to be in the red by an estimated $1.4 billion. We must not wait to begin preparing for a potentially worse financial picture ahead of us.
“A state hiring freeze, of course, is not the complete answer to this problem. It is a beginning of a much needed and continuing effort at fiscal reform. And the purpose of fiscal reform is to say that if government must spend tax dollars on certain projects and programs, it has an obligation to demonstrate to the taxpayer that they’re needed, achieving desired results, and being pursued with the least amount of money possible. But fiscal reform must also be applied to the bureaucracy itself. As with projects and programs, government should not be hiring people to fill vacant positions just because those vacancies exist and because filling them is just the way ‘it’s always been done.’ It should fill vacancies because those jobs are necessary to achieve desired results.
“Government that grows too big can prove cumbersome to the very people it’s supposed to serve, but it also poses a threat to the state’s economy because it saps resources from private citizens who instinctively know how to direct it more efficiently. To government workers and taxpayers alike, I offer the same assurance: excellent public service and taxpayer accountability are not mutually exclusive activities. In fact, the former is more often achieved by adhering to the latter.”
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