DHS bill gets OK of panel

Leader’s pay rise moves to House

Legislation that would increase the annual salary of the state Department of Human Services director from $162,647 to $280,000 cleared the Arkansas Legislature's Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday with no debate.

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House Bill 1135 also would provide the department a supplemental appropriation of $146,276 for the rest of fiscal 2016, which ends June 30.

The legislation cleared the committee in a voice vote and goes to the House for further consideration.

"I guess they understand that great things are expected of her," Joint Budget Committee co-Chairman Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, said after the committee's meeting, when asked why there was no debate about the bill.

Jean said Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson "has told me that he is planning on doing some provider reform ... for the betterment of the long-term existence of what we do for the needy, so I've got to give her a chance. But he seems to think it is worth it."

"It is kind of like the prison reform when we had that several years ago. Gov. [Mike] Beebe said, and I supported it, what we were doing is not working, and so I am going to give the governor the benefit of the doubt on this," he said.

The department's new director, Cynthia Gillespie, who worked for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney from 2003-2006, has been working under a consulting contract with the Human Services Department since March 1.

The contract is for $49,000 and expires April 30. Gillespie's Human Services predecessor was John Selig, who worked from July 2005 until last month.

Since working for Romney, Gillespie worked as a principal at Dentons U.S. LLP and as a senior managing director at McKenna, Long & Aldridge LLP, working on health care policy, as well as at C.D. Gillespie Consulting, working on strategic counseling, policy development, political consulting and governmental affairs, according to her resume.

Before working for Romney, she worked for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002; the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games; King & Spalding LLP; and then-U.S. Rep. Richard Ray, D-Ga.

Hutchinson believes that the salary increase for the Human Services director is needed to hire the best candidate to manage state government's largest agency, spokesman J.R. Davis said after Hutchinson announced Gillespie's hiring in February. The agency has an $8.3 billion budget and more than 7,000 employees.

The department includes the following divisions: Aging and Adult Services; Behavioral Health Services; Child Care and Early Childhood Education; Children and Family Services; Community Service and Nonprofit Support; County Operations; Developmental Disabilities Services; Medical Services; Services for the Blind; and Youth Services.

Hutchinson hired a Tupelo, Miss., executive-search consultant to conduct a nationwide search for possible candidates to replace Selig. The Pace Group Inc. was hired for $65,000, plus up to $20,000 in expenses, under its contract with the Department of Human Services. The consultant has been paid $74,771, according to department records.

A Section on 04/21/2016

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