'Final report' on state salary study was due five months ago. Where is it?

The AIDEA study about the economics of AIDEA is not the only important state-funded report that has yet to see the light of day.

A comprehensive $800,000 study on the salaries of state workers and whether they are high enough for market conditions is another.

Hiring problems have become chronic at state agencies, leading to a decline in the quality and quantity of state services. Low salaries are a factor. There are others, including the retirement system, working conditions and what other employers are offering.

The salary study was supposed to have been wrapped up by June 30, allowing enough time to become part of the budget discussion this year.

“Upon completion, the results and recommendations of the survey will be compared to the compensation offered to eligible state of Alaska employees to determine if the state is offering salaries and benefits that are within an appropriate competitive range in relation to other employers that are in direct competition for the employees required to deliver state services,” the state said more than a year ago.

If that has happened at all, it is only within the narrow political confines of the Dunleavy administration.

The proposed state budget for the next fiscal year is due from Gov. Mike Dunleavy in two weeks and the expensive research conducted to gather the facts on salaries is not part of the discussion in Alaska.

“The state is flexible as to interim due dates for deliverables as long as the final report date of 6/30/24 is met,” the Department of Administration said on October 19, 2023.

The state also said the “final report must be submitted by June 30, 2024, in order to allow time for responsible parties to review and make informed decisions during the following fiscal year.”

This means the final report should have been released to the public five months ago, before voters went to the polls to elect legislators. The details should have been an issue in every legislative race.

The report probably would have been in wide circulation had the governor supported the contents and the price tag of adjusting state pay so that recruitment will be improved.

On November 29, 2023, the state said it intended to award the contract to The Segal Company. The contract period was to continue until November 30.

The Legislature appropriated $1 million for a comprehensive salary study in 2023. This is the first comprehensive study of state compensation in 15 years. The last one, from 2009, took 11 months.

RETIREMENT FIX: The Department of Administration says that many of the problems with the Division of Retirement and Benefits I wrote about Tuesday have been fixed. Another big one should be fixed by next week, Commissioner Paula Vrana wrote Wednesday:

“Starting the day of the outage, the division began communicating with plan employers (political subdivisions such as municipalities and school districts that are a part of the plan). November 12th, a notice of the outage was posted on the DRB website and on the 14th an initial email message went to all state employees and was forwarded to plan employers to disseminate to their employees.”

“Those political subdivisions and school districts have been responsible to disseminate notices to their employees, as has been noted in messages to those employers. This is because the Division does not have email addresses for their employees.”

“Since the outage began, several updates have been sent to plan employers and to state employees. The latest was a message sent yesterday (Tuesday) announcing the restoration of most services, including access to the web site portal for members which will allow them to use the self-serve programs and to enroll in the AlaskaCare health and supplemental benefits plan.

“The division’s attention is now focused on payroll reporting, which should be restored next week. Once that has been restored, another communication will be sent to members and participants and our web site will be updated.”

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