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Fallin Orders Hiring Freeze For State Agencies

Gov. Mary Fallin during her 2015 State of the State address Feb. 2, 2015.
Joe Wertz
/
StateImpact Oklahoma
Gov. Mary Fallin during her 2015 State of the State address Feb. 2

Updated at 8:25 a.m.

Gov. Mary Fallin has imposed a moratorium on hiring and pay raises for state workers.

Fallin issued an executive order Monday that tightens hiring and wage adjustment practices for employees at all state agencies. The hiring freeze and pay raise moratorium does not affect common or higher education employees.

"We want to make sure that each of these positions, that are being filled or given pay raises, that they receive the scrutiny of a cabinet secretary," Fallin said. "That doesn't mean they can't be given. It just means that someone is going to have an extra layer of look to make sure it's truly necessary."

Fallin says new state workers can still be hired with the approval of the statewide elected official who manages the agency or a cabinet secretary. Approval requires a written explanation explaining why it is necessary.

Fallin says the order is needed to ensure that taxpayer funds are directed at state services rather than new employees or salaries. Fallin says state officials need to carefully manage every taxpayer dollar as the state copes with budgetary challenges.

The state is facing a projected revenue shortfall of about $300 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and Fallin said that number could grow.

"We do anticipate that once we continue to move into this fiscal year - from January 1 on - that we will see a little bit more of a decline in our revenue sources that our coming in," Fallin said. "The oil industry is finally catching up with some job layoffs in the state."

The Oklahoman's Rick Green reports Office of Management and Enterprise Services figures indicate most of the nearly 23,000 state employees have received pay raises since 2011.

Tom Dunning, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, said some categories of state employees, including child welfare workers, are in severe need of new personnel. “We’re concerned about anything that would slow down agencies’ abilities to acquire the type of staff they need,” he said. “We understand the budget situation and hope that processes will be put in place that will streamline any approvals that have to be made.” Oklahoma’s income tax rate, now at 5.25 percent, is to drop to 5 percent next January. Depending on a revenue trigger, it could eventually drop to 4.85 percent. The Oklahoma Board of Equalization is to meet on Feb. 17 to give an updated estimate of the state revenue available for appropriation.

Leaders of several Oklahoma think tanks and one of the two major political parties also expressed concerns about the hiring freeze, according to The Journal Record's Brian Brus.

“I’m kind of shocked,” Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Wallace Collins said, referring to the state’s secretary of finance, administration and revenue. “The horse is already out of the barn and now we’re going to try to lock the door? What about giving a raise of $64,000 less than a year ago to Preston Doerflinger? We’ve got teachers and guards down at the prisons who haven’t had raises in years. That doesn’t make sense to me.” David Blatt, executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, said he was puzzled about why the budget problem wasn’t mentioned in Fallin’s recent State of the State speech. “It suggests that we are moving into really difficult budget times,” Blatt said. “It’s a little unusual that this announcement would be made a week after she announced the budget overview. It leaves me to wonder whether this signals the budget outlook is even worse than what was anticipated a week ago.”

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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