State department terminates 5 jobs

The Arkansas Department of Inspector General has implemented a plan to reorganize and restructure positions in the department and a reduction in force that resulted in the termination of five employees, Arkansas Department of Inspector General Secretary Allison Bragg said.

The five employees’ last day with the department was Nov. 17, Bragg said in a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Barnhill and reported to the Legislative Council’s personnel subcommittee Wednesday.

Bragg said in a letter to Legislative Council Co-Chairs Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, and Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, the department currently has no intention of filling a senior auditor/program manager position and an attorney/audit coordinator position in its Office of Medicaid Inspector General, and an auditor/fiscal support supervisor position, a systems coordination analyst/assistant director of computer services position, and an administrative services manager position in shared services.

Instead, the job duties associated with each position have been identified as unnecessary, shifted to another employee, shifted to an outside contractor at a cost savings, or automated to reduce cost and increase efficiency, she said.

Each affected employee is eligible for severance payments and the department requested $800 for one employee, $1,200 each or two employees, and $1,600 each for two employees, Bragg said. She said her understanding is the severance payments will be made next week.

Bragg said the reduction in force leaves the department with 37 employees.

The total cost savings from the elimination of the five positions is about $317,278, including about $193,330 in general revenue savings, she said. The department’s total budget is $13.6 million, including general revenue of $6.2 million.

The Arkansas Department of Inspector General includes the Office of Medicaid Inspector General, the Office of Internal Audit, the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission, and the Tax Appeals Commission, according to the department’s website.