Some advice And it won’t come cheap
When Republicans in the General Assembly start questioning this governor’s office, maybe the governor should listen.
Who says the Ledge is a rubber stamp? Not when it comes to executive branch folks asking for six figures to supplement . . . some job or another. Can’t really say, right off.
Earlier this month, the state Board of Corrections voted 5-2 (not exactly a squeaker) to terminate Department of Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri over what was described as a battle over opening certain prison beds and accusations of insubordination and non-communication.
Mr. Profiri is also banned from the department.
A few days later, Gov. Sarah Sanders hired him as a “special adviser” in her office at a reduced salary of $201,699.89.
Given the scenario, it’s not unreasonable to wonder what this special adviser’s job description is in his new position. That’s just what Fayetteville Democrat Senator Greg Leding, Texarkana Republican Jimmy Hickey, and others would like to understand.
Jim Hudson, secretary of the state Department of Finance and Administration, tried on Tuesday to provide that answer to Leding and the committee by saying that public statements from the governor’s office have been clear.
Apparently they weren’t clear enough, so Secretary Hudson said of Mr. Profiri: “He will be advising the governor on matters involving corrections. Obviously, we are all very familiar with the ongoing litigation, but the secretary does two things. He runs or she runs the department. They also provide advice to the governor, and there is a lot of needs in terms of criminal justice reform and corrections and so she needs that advice and he will be serving her providing that advice.”
More than $200,000 is a lot of money for advice. Wonder what the average Arkansan thinks about that?
It’s difficult to conceive how Mr. Profiri would continue to run the show when he’s banned from the theater.
It seems the governor should be busy looking for a longterm replacement for Mr. Profiri—somebody who can also provide the advice she says she needs, rather than trying to wrangle six figures out of the Legislature to make a larger six-figure salary work within the budget she’s been given to hire staff.
It’s understandable that in order to compete with the private sector for talent to help run the state’s various functions, the governor needs to be able to pay competitive salaries. However, when a state-appointed board votes overwhelmingly to fire the head of a department, she might use some of her funds to hire a better talent scout.