March 13, 2024

by Michael R. Wickline | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A legislative panel on Wednesday endorsed the state Department of Commerce’s request to create two administrative positions with a projected total cost of about $400,000 in federal and state funds.

The Legislative Council’s personnel subcommittee recommended the Legislative Council approve the Commerce Department’s request to create a director of Arkansas Workforce Connection post and an assistant director of Reemployment post, without asking any questions about the request. The Legislative Council will consider the request during its meeting Friday.

The salary range is $149,862 to $181,500 a year for the Arkansas Workforce Connection position, and $96,960 to $140,592 a year for the Reemployment post.

The Commerce Department’s Division of Workforce Services requested a new title and position for a director of Arkansas Workforce Connection to lead the multiple state and federal workforce development programs and coordinate with local development boards, Kay Barnhill, the state’s personnel director, said in a letter dated Wednesday to Legislative Council personnel subcommittee co-chairs Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, and Rep. Mark Berry, R-Ozark.

The new division will include business and employer outreach, the Office of Skills Development, employer workforce programming that supports new and expanding businesses, adult education, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, Services for the Blind, and Employment Services, Barnhill said.

The Division of Workforce Services also requested a new title and position of assistant director of Reemployment, which is currently known as Unemployment Insurance, Barnhill said in her letter.

The position will manage more than 200 staff in a newly separated division and be responsible for identifying solutions and managing processes to mitigate findings from the U.S. Labor Department’s routine monitoring exercises and legislative audit visits, she said.

“This new unit also will be incorporating the Reemployment Service and Eligibility Assessment federal program into the organization,” Barnhill said. “This position will be critical in protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance system and will work to facilitate a claimant’s connection to work search assistance.”

She said the cost of the two positions, including fringe benefit costs, will be about $340,251 funded through federal funds and $57,988 funded through state general revenue, and the Division of Workforce Services “guarantees our office that it has sufficient funding to support these growth pool position requests.”

Barnhill said the Division of Workforce Services maintains this request will enable them to align tasks within the division more efficiently to better serve the claimants and employers effectively.

After the personnel subcommittee meeting, state Commerce Department spokesman Clarke Cogbill said in a written statement “Until these decisions are voted on by the full [Arkansas Legislative Council] Friday, we think it would be premature to comment.”

Among other recommendations, the personnel subcommittee also endorsed:

Northwest Technical Institute’s request for six nurse instructor posts with a salary range of $71,403 a year to $99,964 a year in return for surrendering six positions.

The institute has six positions responsible for functioning as nursing faculty within its allied health programs, but none of the agency’s multiple approaches to recruit applicants has proven successful because of low starting salaries, Barnhill said.

An institute official reported Feb. 13 that the institute had three vacant nurse faculty positions.

Barnhill said to address this issue and attract quality candidates, the agency needs a different job classification with more substantive pay. The cost of six positions is projected to be about $245,698 in state general revenue, she said.

Disability Determination for Social Security Administration’s request for two program director posts with a salary range of $77,862 to $112,900 a year in exchange for surrendering four positions.

The agency currently has two employees classified as program directors, and as these two employees near retirement, the department must reorganize to meet its ongoing needs, Barnhill said. The two additional positions are needed to continue providing outstanding leadership services, she said.

Department of Human Services’ request to create a database administrator post with a salary range of $71,704 to $103,970 a year in exchange for surrendering an information systems coordination specialist post and a computer support technician post.

The department is requesting the position because of a growing need for someone committed solely to managing the eligibility systems that include Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Transitional Employment Assistance program as well as six employees, according to Barnhill.

Department of Transformation and Shared Services’ request for a new classification and position for a state geographic information systems officer with a salary range of $120,543 to $157,100 a year in exchange for surrendering a geographic information systems analyst post.

The state geographic information systems officer will report to the secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services and will be responsible for managing and coordinating all geographic information systems activities in the division as well as coordinating geographic information systems issues with personnel from other state departments, Barnhill said.

The salary for the state geographic information officer, Shelby Johnson, is $135,676 a year, according to the Arkansas Transparency website.

The Arkansas Public Service Commission’s request to create an attorney supervisor position with a salary range of $69,776 to $101,175 a year in return for surrendering an attorney specialist post.

The Public Service Commission is requesting the position to meet the legal needs of the commission, Barnhill said.

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