Volunteering for Layoff

From: YOUNG, LENNY (DNR)
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 8:19 AM
To: DNR DL ALLNRB; DNR DL ALLREGIONS
Subject: Volunteering for Layoff

Since I announced that DNR would have to lay off some employees to accomplish necessary expenditure reductions, I have received many suggestions on ways we might be able to save money or mitigate the effects layoffs.  Several peoples have suggested that we allow our employees to volunteer to be laid off so that others might not be displaced.

One concern expressed was that an employee volunteering to be laid off might not be eligible for unemployment compensation.  Human Resources Division has investigated this and has come up with a way to make this idea work for those who might be interested.

If you are interested in voluntarily offering to be among those included in the layoff process please contact Phil Wilson, Human Resource Division Manager, for additional information.  Phil will collect these as they come in and periodically present them to Executive Management for consideration.  If your offer is accepted, Human Resources Division will work with you to end your employment in such a way that you would remain eligible for unemployment.

Please feel free to contact Phil if you have questions about how this would work.  Phil can be reached at phillip.wilson@dnr.wa.gov, or by phone at 360.902.1652.

---

Please note: I’m not sure if this applies only to staff. I don’t know of anyone from management who has stepped forward for voluntary layoff.

---

It’s AmeriCAN not AmeriCAN’T

On March 12th, I sent an email to Lenny Young with an idea to potentially save the DNR $1.8 million or roughly the salary of 9 full-time employees.

To date, the response I’ve gotten from management is zip, zilch, nada. At least to the budget idea. As far as this blog goes, I’ve gotten some response in the form of intimidation from my division manager, had certain executive managers from both the DNR and DIS corresponding about the contents, and even gotten a little attention for lobbying. Unfortunately, if I was lobbying I must not have done a very good job because none of the representatives or Governor Gregoire have emailed me back.

I’ve been sidetracked from my agenda. The purpose of this blog is to create a public forum where good ideas will be heard and acted upon. While I strayed off the beaten path a bit, it did help establish contact with John Barnes and Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center, Todd Iverson of America-In-Solidarity, Joan Gallagher of the Washington Federation of State Employees, and a number of bloggers and Washington citizens with a similar interest.

Please support these organizations and others like them. Get involved and demand open government so we can reform our state and pressure managers to stop talking and start doing.

I’m holding managers accountable for dereliction of Governor Gregoire’s written and verbal orders to reform. I’m holding them accountable for dishonesty and false claims about necessary cuts. I’m holding them accountable for not owning up to the part they play in this financial disaster, and the decisions they made year after year which increased costs. I’m holding them accountable for making the economy in our state worse with every person they cut. It’s people getting cut, not jobs. This is the collateral damage of a poorly run system. This is the cost of unsustainable business practices.

I’m holding the highest levels of management accountable and calling for everyone who reads this to do the same. Contact elected officials, send public disclosure requests asking for evidence of what has been done to cut expenditures, and respond vehemently to anything you feel is wrong. State government belongs to the people of Washington, not to management. Staff has the right to protest job cuts, especially when this is the result of incompetence at the highest level.

This is an open forum. I’ve asked and will continue to ask for a response with evidence to refute the information I’ve presented. It doesn’t even need to be a formal response to me. Put it up on the DNR website.

It’s disheartening to accuse a group of people of misconduct when ultimately all I want to do is be completely wrong. Unfortunately, there has been no response. In the words of Pat Gebhardt, “Silence is compliance.”

DNR’s Budget: Update

From: YOUNG, LENNY (DNR)
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 9:31 AM
To: DNR DL ALLNRB; DNR DL ALLREGIONS
Subject: DNR's Budget: Update
Attachments: Budget_L.PDF; ComparisonChartGovSenHouseDNR09-11.xls; CapitalBudgetCompareApril 6.doc

I would like to update you on recent developments and activities related to DNR’s budget.  First and foremost, all three primary versions of the state’s 09-11 budget (Governor, Senate, House) have now been released, both operating and capital.  DNR is impacted differently in each version.

State Budget - Operating
In the operating budget, total reductions to DNR’s State General Fund (GF-S) appropriation, compared to the current biennium, are as follows:

Governor:      - $12.5 million (- 12.3%)
Senate:          - $16.3 million (- 16.0%)
House:           - $25.3 million (- 24.9%)

In each budget version, some reductions are left to the department’s discretion within a general area, while others are specifically directed.

In response, DNR has prepared a proposal at the Senate reduction level, but with reductions distributed somewhat differently.  We are basing our proposal on the Senate level because we feel that level of reduction represents a best-case scenario for the eventual conference budget, which is negotiated from the three primary budget versions.  We have identified our top priorities for changes to what has been proposed by the Legislature, and are actively working with members of the legislature to achieve the best possible outcome.  I have attached a letter from the Commissioner to members of the legislature that summarizes our top priorities and transmits DNR’s proposal.  I have also attached a spreadsheet that compares the 3 budget versions and outlines DNR’s proposal.

DNR has been preparing for reductions in GF-S funding for the past 2 months.  We have identified expenditure reductions that will be necessary if we receive reductions beyond our proposal, i.e., beyond the $16.3 million level.  Tomorrow, our executive managers, region managers, and division managers whose programs would be impacted by reductions beyond the $16.3 million level will meet to prioritize these potential, additional reductions.  Of course, we hope that our proposal will be successful and that additional reductions will not be necessary.

State Budget - Capital
Funding for DNR programs supported by the state’s capital budget also has been reduced.  I have attached a sheet that summarizes capital funding proposed in the Senate and House budget versions for several major programs.  As with the operating budget, we are actively working with the Legislature on a daily basis to point out things that may have been overlooked as reductions were prepared, and to achieve the best possible outcome for DNR programs that receive capital funding.

Administrative Fund Split
To accomplish necessary expenditure reductions from the Resource Management Cost Account (RMCA) and GF-S, we must reduce expenditures from the “admin fund split” by $6.5 million (14%).  On March 25^th, executive managers, region managers, and division managers responsible for programs supported by the admin fund split met to develop an expenditure reduction plan.  This afternoon, Budget Director, Cullen Stephenson and Bob Van Schoorl, and I will present this plan to the Commissioner.

Additional Layoffs
We will not be able to achieve required expenditure reductions for GF-S and the admin fund split without additional layoffs.  I expect that we will be able to identify almost all of the positions that must be eliminated to implement GF-S and admin fund split reductions by May 1.  As we get closer to May 1, I will provide you with more information on impacts and timing.  Human Resources Division also will be providing additional information.

Your Ideas
Thank you for the ideas that you have been sending to me.  I’ve received over 100 messages with suggestions for cutting costs or increasing revenue.  About 2 weeks ago, I began assigning your recommendations to our managers for response.  After a response has been prepared, our Communications Group is posting the suggestion and response on our Sharepoint site, in the middle of the home page, under the title, “Budget Ideas and Actions.”  So far, we’ve posted  23 suggestions / responses, and we are adding more each day.  My intention is that we will post a response for every suggestion that has been made.  Please keep your ideas headed my way.

Moving Forward
I appreciate the positive spirit with which you are working through this period of unprecedented impacts to our department and its people.  This spring has been, and will continue to be, difficult for all of us, but especially for those whose positions are impacted by the expenditure reductions DNR is forced to make.  I notice and greatly appreciate the support for one another that I see all around me, in different ways, every day.  I admire your courage and caring, and I respect the strength you are demonstrating on a daily basis.  As always, please let me know how I can help.