A legislative committee Thursday approved a pay raise of $12,139 a year for the administrator of the state’s Fayetteville Veterans Home and salary increase of $10,909 for the assistant deputy for the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
The veterans home administrator is Kriss Schaffer, who was hired in January at a starting annual salary of $62,719; he’ll now make $74,858 per year.
He previously was a nursing home administrator and co-owner of Greenhurst Nursing Center in Charleston with an annual salary of $120,000 and has 30 years of experience, said the state’s personnel administrator Kay Terry.
The 2012 median salary for the medical and health services manager job class that includes nursing home administrators was $88,670, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Terry wrote in a letter to the Legislature’s personnel subcommittee. She recommended approval of the state Department of Veterans Affairs’ request to pay Schaffer $74,858 a year - the maximum-authorized salary for the job.
Schaffer’s predecessor was Sarah Robinson, who was fired Nov. 20 after a resident escaped the facility unnoticed. Robinson’s termination was the result of “a negative trend in administrative decision-making on her part,” department spokesman Kelly Ferguson has said.
Cissy Rucker, director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, told lawmakers Thursday that Schaffer sold his interest in the Greenhurst Nursing Center because he wanted to work with the Peace Corps, but he couldn’t move to a Third World country because of his health problems.
She said Schaffer “took a leap of faith with me” in accepting the job at an annual salary of $62,719 - the maximum that she could offer without the personnel subcommittee’s approval
“I just can’t lose him,” Rucker said. “If you want expertise, it costs money.”
Karen Watkins, administrative services manager for the department, said Schaffer is an outstanding administrator for the veterans home in Fayetteville, and it would be a “tragedy” for the state to lose him.
The department’s assistant director is Charles Johnson, who has worked for the department since August 2012.
Johnson’s annual salary of $66,630 is far below the $104,570 annual average for comparable assistant and deputy directors of state agencies, Terry said. She recommended approval of the department’s request to pay Johnson $77,539 - the maximum allowed. The committee granted the $10,909 raise.
Rucker said Johnson was hired for what had been a “a figurehead position” but excelled at the job. He helped to improve conditions at the Fayetteville home, and he’s needed as the department works on plans for a few veterans homes in central Arkansas, Rucker said.
In addition, Johnson “has been approached by headhunters,” Rucker said.
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 02/21/2014