State ad seeks development chief

Job pays $139,000 with up to a $75,000 bonus, listing says

The state has started advertising the job of executive director for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission at a starting minimum salary of $139,000 a year, plus a privately funded annual performance bonus of $50,000 to $75,000 a year and an automobile.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he hopes to fill the position by the end of February.

"Most importantly, we want to get the right person, and so that is my goal," he said in an interview. "If it is somehow extended because the process takes longer, that's OK. But that's the goal -- by the end of February -- and I think we are on target to get that done."

The advertisement says to submit a "career summary cover letter and resume" via email to rett.hatcher@governor.arkansas.gov. Rett Hatcher is executive assistant to Hutchinson's chief of staff, Michael Lamoureux.

Qualified candidates under consideration will be contacted within two weeks of submitting their application, the job notice says.

Hutchinson, a Republican from Rogers, said his administration isn't asking the applicants to send their resumes to his office to avoid public disclosure of their names.

"That is not the design of what we are doing, but it is the consequence of how we are doing it," he said.

Having the applications sent to the governor's office "sends a signal to those who might consider Arkansas to bring their talents that this is something that is close to the governor and that is being done by the governor's office, so I think it sends the right message. ... And secondly, it is something that is a major part of my agenda and it is appropriate that I lead that search," Hutchinson said.

Asked whether the applications will be open to the public under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, he replied, "No, no. This is the working papers of the governor."

Former commission Executive Director Grant Tennille was paid $139,706 a year. Tennille is now "essentially subcontracted on a month to month basis for $5,000 per month, primarily to ensure a continued smooth transition of specific projects," said commission spokesman Scott Hardin.

The Arkansas Economic Development Foundation has provided an automobile for the commission's executive director for many years, board Chairman Gus Vratsinas said.

Candidates for the job should have "extensive and proven" economic development or business experience and have "successfully managed large organizations with proven results," according to the ad. The executive director reports to the governor and is responsible for the state's lead economic development agency with an operating budget of $10.2 million and 85 employees, it says.

On Dec. 22, Hutchinson said his administration would conduct a national search for the next executive director, and he anticipated that Tennille's successor would need to be paid about $200,000 a year. "For us to compete nationally and globally in job creation, we are going to have to elevate the compensation package for that director," he said last month.

Hutchinson said Monday that there "has been some significant amount of outreach in the economic development community" because "my hopeful timeline was to get this wrapped by the end of the February.

"There's also some official notices [and] solicitations, being submitted in some national publications," he said.

So far, Hatcher said, the governor's office has received four resumes.

Hardin said the advertisement is running on the Southern Economic Development Council Career Center website through April 21 and in the group's monthly newsletter in February, March and April.

The ad also will run in the International Economic Development Council's "Economic Development Now" newsletter on Feb. 2 and Feb. 16. It is in the group's current e-newsletter and will also be in the Feb. 9 edition, Hardin said.

Asked how he came up with the range of $50,000 to $75,000 a year for the private compensation, the governor said that "we conducted a review of our surrounding states" for similar positions.

"What we are advertising is in the range of $200,000 to be negotiated partly based on who it is and their history, so that has to remain somewhat flexible, but that is the range that we believe will be competitive," he said.

The median salary for economic development directors in 32 states is about $145,099 a year, based on information on state-paid salaries from the National Compensation Association of State Governments, which didn't include private salary supplements.

On the basis of the association's survey, the highest-paid economic development director is Louisiana's economic development secretary at $320,000 a year. The second-highest paid is the president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership at $278,995 a year.

Kentucky's secretary of the Economic Development Cabinet ranked third at $250,0000 a year, and Tennessee's commissioner of economic and community development ranked fourth at $190,260 a year, the association said. The salary of the executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority ranked fifth at $183,000 a year, with a range of $106,500 to $183,240, and the economic development chief in South Carolina ranked sixth at $162,640 a year with a range of $162,640 to $240,092, the association said.

The salary for Missouri's economic development director is $120,000 a year with a range of $85,632 to $124,476 a year. Oklahoma's economic development executive director was paid $112,500 a year with a range of $95,810 to $143,714, the association reported. The association's report doesn't include the salary for Texas.

Hutchinson said he's talked to Frank Thomas, a board member of the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation, about the foundation providing private funds to supplement the state-paid salary of the Arkansas director.

"We are waiting for them to take action to make sure this is consistent with their objectives, which I believe it is," he said. "Secondly, we are looking at what's necessary from a statutory standpoint, so we are still working on the legislative side. I don't anticipate a problem."

Hutchinson said the governor's office is researching whether a bill or special language attached to an appropriation for the commission is needed to allow the foundation to provide a private salary supplement.

Vratsinas said Monday that he believes the Legislature must approve legislation to allow the foundation to supplement the director's salary before the foundation can act. He said he's trying to call a board meeting for sometime next month.

"If this works ... we are going to bust our rear ends to make it happen," he said.

Metro on 01/27/2015

Upcoming Events