SED Comments to PACOE
SED Wehry attended the PACOE Annual Meeting in Lancaster, PA on May 17, 2014. He was kind enough to provide a few comments and then participate in an open Q/A.
Mr. Wehry began by noting the challenges the past few years, particularly with the budget. He noted that this year’s budget appear to be better than recent years. He notes that in 2009 PA had a budget of $20.5 million and a staff ceiling of 228 (had 231 on board). In 2014 our current budget is $16.7 million, a reduction of around 20%. Our current interim staff ceiling is 189. We currently have 121 CO employees and 53 GS employees on board. We’ve had a hard hiring freeze for some time and it is still in effect.
We also faced sequestration challenges. These tied up the farm bill for several years. Now that we have one passed, the Secretary is making disaster a priority. More and more information is rolling out, including a webpage coming soon for ARCPLC.
SED Wehry has been promised that new staff ceilings and hiring guidelines will come soon. However, he has received nothing yet. On the SED DAFO call they were told they would get them in the coming week. The Secretary has been talking about a workload study which would be used to reallocate staff numbers to where the work is or where it is projected to be. This is the CBS model which is along the lines of the Hub/Satellite model that the SED discussed with PACOE last fall. Now looking forward we need to see where the workload piece goes. SEDWehry noted that NASCOE has commented on CBS. He’s unsure what it will look like, but it’s moving forward to his understanding.
Q: Do you know anything official or have you heard any rumors on signup for new programs?
A: All he has heard is “shortly”. CREP is waiting on the Secretary. There is a question on how many acres are allowed. The Delaware River Basin CREP proposal is out for approval as well and should be implemented shortly. As far as other programs, he has heard fall. The ACRPLC webpage should have more info. The new MILC program will be “by September”.
Q: What tools are we going to need and what prep can we do now?
A: That’s a fair question. It has been asked on the DAFO calls. Having budget allocations now is good news and it should allow us to begin to manage.
Q: Concerns about limits on talking about new programs. Can’t even share information on sister agency’s programs. How far up does that go?
A: This isn’t the first time that he has heard these concerns. Secretary has concerns about the information we deliver. It must complete the regulatory process and policy decisions need to be made. There are concerns that people will speculate and get things sideways. However, he believes that information will open up shortly. There will be a lot of info on the website. Whatever the Secretary has talked about, you can talk about.
Q: Can we ask about CBS. We know the SEDs have discussed it. We have heard there is a work study in 2014. We haven’t heard anything yet on that. Do we know when and how it will measure work?
A: He anticipates the staffing ceilings that will be announced soon will be based on the work study. He believes there is something in place, but that he will have an opportunity to tweak it before going into next year. The last real workload was measured in 2007. SED’s are concerned about across the board cuts based on old numbers. He believes staff ceilings will be based off a study.
Q: Will that same study be used to determine CBS office types?
A: I believe it should be.
Q: Will you have the discretion to decide what CBS type each office is?
A: I think so, within the guidelines provided. States are too diverse to do otherwise. He also expects the workload piece to take into account efficiency, diversity, and complexity.
Q: Based on when a snapshot is or was taken, could understaffed office info be skewed?
A: He’s not really sure. The comments he has heard on ARS data imply it cannot be used effectively. However, it is very complex and detailed. Incidentally, with regard to ARS complexity, he spoke with Administrator Garcia about ARS. Apparently ARS has as many categories as it does due to feedback from the field during the pilot. However, Secretary Garcia agreed with SED Wehry that it could be less complex.
Q: With regards to staffing, is there a way to assign a performance value to each employee? For example, some employees are more productive (1.2) and others may be less (.7).
A: He believes we should have a fair, consistent, un-biased tool to determine where the work is and what total need there is. He also noted that if you wind up with 3.44 FTE’s needed in an office you have to round either up or down. Local offices will have to adjust. He believes the staffing guide that PA developed is a good tool, but if you can’t backfill the tool does no good.
SED Wehry commented that nationwide the budget allowed for approximately 7,380 staff years. As of February or March FSA had approximately 7,081 employees on board. The proposed 2015 budget allows for approximately 6,985 staff years. He noted that WDC allowed for 150 critical hiring fills this last year and PA got two of them.
Q: So if we are near our staffing numbers, is it just a matter of getting people where the work is?
A: Well is has to start somewhere. Southern states lost cotton, tobacco, and peanut programs. There is going to be a shift in resources and it must be nationwide.
Q: A recent GAO audit indicated that USDA is looking for a management ratio of 1:9. Will this apply to CBS?
A: He doesn’t know, but it is not the first time he has heard this. This was brought up when the STO restructured and he was told then he didn’t have enough people reporting to each supervisor.
Q: This would be a big shift from our current CO structure….
A: He agrees. FSA is not good at this, but we have been forced into this model through budget cuts. PA’s current budget is lower than ever in the last 10 years or more.
Q: Do you anticipate all of the CBS, workload, etc. will all come together at the same time?
A: He expects to do some backfilling when the ceiling and hiring guidelines are released. However, he does not anticipate CO hiring to be authorized.
Q: How many employees are we under on GS right now?
A: we are currently at 53 of 59.
Q: What is your priority for GS hiring?
A: Don’t have one yet. He will go back to the staffing guide. It’s not hard to find a hole, but you have to prioritize.
Q: If you know they aren’t hiring CO and you look ahead to 3 CEDs vying for 1 CED position, are you telling the CO people to make the decision to shift to GS?
A: If CEDs have to complete, they will have opportunities. I am not against shifting people to GS, if we get in the situation where CEDs are competing. He will be aware and will consider it. If our CO ceiling is above the employees we have onboard he is confident we can fill those positions with temps.
Q: How do you prioritize temp placements?
A: In the absence of anything else, the staffing guide. If a new workload model is available, he will use that.
SED Wehry made a brief comment that with regard to CBS, the Secretary made it clear there are no office closures in 2014. When it was commented that there are only 4 months of FY14 left, he noted that thinks the Secretary was referring to calendar year.
Q: PACOE previously pushed up concerns about TOAs. The STO responded with a memo indicating we should follow 5-PM and that we need still need to justify awards. PACOE responded requesting some of the common errors. Recently I put an award in EmpowHR and was told by STO it had to be deleted. STO stated that EmpowHR wasn’t to be used and that we needed to fill out a paper form that the forms sitestates isn’t to be used by County Offices. This is confusing since the STO memo indicated to use 5-PM. We’re trying to get action on this. It appears to be a PA only issue. If TOA’s are abused, the bad supervisors should be dealt with instead of changing the rules. Can we get an answer on this?
A: Fair enough. He’ll look into it.
Q: The new printers (MPS) take a long time to fix when they break down. There are limitations and concerns with these…
A: This was discussed in several states and IT is unyielding. Orders for the remaining MPS are at a standstill which is a concern because our current copier leases are expiring at the end of the FY. Holly has fought the MPS battle several times. There is discussion in WDC concerning developinga work-around to not require Lincpass use.
That concluded the Q/A with the SED. PACOE thanked SED Wehry and STC member Greg Hostettler for taking the time to visit with PACOE.