Arkansas Legislative Subcommittee Approves Salary Increases for State Officials and New Staff Classifications

Joint Budget Committee Approves Salary Increases for State Agency Heads and New Staff Classifications for Governor's Office
 
The Joint Budget Committee's legislative personnel subcommittee approved salary increases for heads of state agencies on Thursday and also granted a request for new pay classifications for five members of the governor's staff. The increases will not require funding beyond the authorized appropriations, according to state personnel director Kay Barnhill. The panel approved salaries for four department secretaries that exceeded the maximum salary of $201,700 set for those positions, with state law permitting the governor's office to pay agency directors up to 50% more than the maximum pay level with approval from the Joint Budget Committee. The subcommittee approved salaries of $225,000 for Kristi Putnam, head of the Department of Human Services; $250,000 for Jacob Oliva, head of the Arkansas Department of Education; $225,000 for Hugh McDonald, secretary of the state Department of Commerce; and $210,000 for Joe Profiri, secretary of the state Department of Corrections.
 
Salary Increases for Department Secretaries Exceed Maximum Pay Level with Approval from Joint Budget Committee
 
The Joint Budget Committee's legislative personnel subcommittee approved a salary of $210,000 for Joe Profiri, the secretary of the state Department of Corrections. This is a significant increase compared to the salary of $170,276 that his predecessor, Solomon Graves, received while holding the same position under former Governor Asa Hutchinson, according to the state's transparency website. The subcommittee also approved new pay classifications for five members of the governor's staff, including the chief of staff, two deputy chief of staff positions, the public affairs director, and the chief legal counsel. The governor's office stated that to offset the new classifications, five other positions would remain vacant and would be eliminated during the biennial budget process. The classifications allow for a salary range of $149,862 to $181,500 for the governor's chief of staff and $134,406 to $167,000 for the deputy chief of staff, public affairs director, and chief legal counsel positions. The secretary salaries requested by the governor's office were found to be competitive with those paid in neighboring states, according to Barnhill.
 
Governor's Office Eliminates Five Positions to Offset New Staff Classifications
 
The Joint Budget Committee's legislative personnel subcommittee granted a request from Governor Sanders' office to eliminate five positions, two management specialist positions with salary ranges of $50,222 to $72,821, one administrative assistant position with a salary range of $40,340 to $58,493 and two other administrative assistant positions with salary ranges of $36,155 to $52,424, in order to offset the new classifications for chief of staff, two deputy chief of staff positions, public affairs director and chief legal counsel. The subcommittee also granted a request from Kristi Putnam, the secretary of the Department of Human Services, to set salaries for two deputy director positions at the department at $172,000 which exceeds the maximum salary range for the posts. The standard salary range for these positions is $134,406 to $167,000. The subcommittee also granted a request from the Governor's office to establish new classifications for chief of staff, two deputy chief of staff positions, public affairs director, and chief legal counsel. The approval of all actions was retroactively dated to January 11th. The recommendations will have to receive the approval of the full Joint Budget Committee before they can go into effect.
 
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Arkansas legislative subcommittee approves salary increases for state officials, new classifications for governor’s staff
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jan/20/arkansas-legislative-subcommittee-approves-salary/