Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson wants to hire a Tupelo, Miss.-based executive-search consultant to conduct a nationwide search for possible candidates to replace John Selig, departing director of the state Department of Human Services.
The Legislative Council's Review Subcommittee on Tuesday endorsed the Department of Human Services' proposed $85,000 contract with that consultant, The Pace Group Inc. The subcommittee suspended its rules to allow for a vote on the proposal and rejected a motion to delay action until its Dec. 15 meeting.
The contract would be for $65,000 -- plus up to $20,000 in expenses -- and "we do not anticipate needing $20K in expenses," Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said in an email. The contract would start Friday and end June 30 and would be paid for with state and federal funds, according to the Bureau of Legislative Research.
The Legislative Council will consider the proposed contract during its meeting Friday.
The hiring-consultation proposal by Hutchinson, a Republican, comes several weeks after Selig's announcement that he's departing as the director of state government's largest agency at the end of this year to seek a private-sector job.
Selig, who has served in the post since July 2005, said Oct. 8 that he would be leaving. He makes $161,647 a year as the director of a department with an $8.3 billion budget and about 7,400 employees.
Selig told lawmakers Tuesday that the governor and his staff decided in the past few weeks that "a search like this would be worthwhile."
Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said the director of the Department of Human Services is a crucial job in state government but that "it took us this [long] to decide it would be a great idea to hire somebody to help us fill this crucial position?"
Selig told lawmakers that the governor's office made "some initial effort" to get a list of candidates for the post, "but [it] felt like this was necessary after having done that.
"I don't want to speak for the governor, but I believe he and his office feel like it is important to get this position filled as quickly as they can," he said.
H̶u̶t̶c̶h̶i̶n̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶v̶i̶e̶w̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶e̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶d̶i̶d̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶o̶r̶'̶s̶ ̶j̶o̶b̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶d̶i̶d̶a̶t̶e̶,̶ ̶D̶a̶v̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶e̶g̶i̶s̶l̶a̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶s̶u̶b̶c̶o̶m̶m̶i̶t̶t̶e̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶m̶e̶e̶t̶i̶n̶g.*
Hutchinson said The Pace Group helped the state in its search for a director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission before Mike Preston was hired for the job from Florida's economic development agency earlier this year, and he was "very pleased with its work."
The Arkansas Economic Development Foundation hired The Pace Group at the recommendation of the governor's office, foundation Chairman Gus Vratsinas said Tuesday night. He said he didn't have information immediately available on how much the privately financed foundation, which supports the activities of the publicly funded commission, paid The Pace Group.
The Pace Group searches throughout the United States for hundreds of top executives, guaranteeing an organization a choice of the three to five best candidates in the business, according to its website.
The University of Arkansas System hired the Florida-based search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates to assist in its recent search for a new UA-Fayetteville chancellor at a price of up to $155,000. UA System spokesman Nate Hinkel said the system hasn't yet completed its payments to the search firm, so the total cost hasn't been tallied.
In regard to his search for the Department of Human Services' next director, Hutchinson said he has "examined a number of options for the new director, and after about 30 days of an internal search, I was satisfied that we needed the assistance of a search firm.
"In terms of timing, we are proceeding methodically in the search, and my goal is to find the best choice, and the time frame is secondary."
Hutchinson said the legislative subcommittee could have delayed action on the proposed contract with The Pace Group until its Dec. 15 meeting but that "any delay in the search firm contract will result in a further delay in the selection.
"While I am okay with an interim director for a short time frame after Director Selig leaves, I prefer to have a permanent replacement as soon as practical," he said in his written statement.
Davis said the governor will keep all records relating to the work of The Pace Group exempt from public disclosure under the working-papers exemption of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Hutchinson said it remains to be determined whether he'll conduct out-of-state interviews for the Department of Human Services director job, but he expects the search to include qualified out-of-state candidates.
During the Legislative Council's Review Subcommittee meeting, Elliott asked the council to delay action on the proposed contract until its meeting next month because, she said, "at some point we have to take a stand on doing the job the right way in this [subcommittee].
"I am all for not asking people to be perfect, but there are some things that we can just do better, and I think it's up for us to require they be done better," she said, referring to the Hutchinson administration's asking for suspension of the subcommittee's rules to allow for a vote on the proposed contract on Tuesday.
Elliott's motion to delay action on the proposed contract until the subcommittee's Dec. 15 meeting failed in a 3-3 vote.
Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, and Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, joined Elliott in voting for delaying action on the proposed contract until Dec. 15. Sens. John Cooper, R-Jonesboro; Bobby Pierce, D-Sheridan; and Terry Rice, R-Waldron, voted against delaying action.
Then, the subcommittee voted to approve Rice's motion to endorse the proposed contract in a voice vote, with Elliott dissenting.
Afterward, Rice said he believes that it's been more difficult for Hutchinson to find a replacement for Selig than Hutchinson thought it would be.
"They are going to have somebody get their hands around DHS and John Selig has done well in areas, and in [other] areas I would have liked to have seen it done better," Rice said. "But whoever comes in better be capable and hit the ground running."
Metro on 11/18/2015
*CORRECTION: Gov. Asa Hutchinson hasn’t interviewed any candidates for state Department of Human Services director to succeed departing Director John Selig, Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said. An article in Wednesday's editions incorrectly reported that Davis said Hutchinson already had interviewed candidates for the job.