NOTE: "Ducey gave department directors a mandate when he took office in 2015 to shrink the size of government and shrink they did."
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Arizona Republic: As Arizona's Population Continues To Grow, The State's Government Continues To Shrink
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Andrew Oxford and Maria Polletta
Arizona Republic
October 30, 2019
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Arizona's population is growing. But its state government is not.
The ranks of the state’s civil service have shrunk by 15% since 2008. Arizona’s population has grown 14% during the same period, according to an annual report by Gov. Doug Ducey’s administration.
State employees have a key role in Arizonans' daily lives. They monitor air quality, maintain highways, investigate child abuse allegations and issue drivers' licenses, among a myriad of other tasks.
There are fewer people working in the executive branch of state government than there were even during the recession, when state leaders slashed programs and sold state buildings to balance budget shortfalls.
The data reflect an approach to governing that Ducey has touted as fiscally conservative. But the thinning ranks of Arizona’s civil service have also led to understaffing in some areas that officials have criticized as outright dangerous.
The state personnel system consisted of 32,997 people this year. That includes nearly all agencies in the executive branch of government, excluding the Department of Public Safety and the state's universities.
The state is one of the biggest employers in Arizona, with more employees than Kroger or Wells Fargo have locally.
But a little more than a decade ago, in 2008, there were 37,956 people working in these state agencies.
The state slashed staffing significantly during the recession and its immediate aftermath.
By 2010, the number in the state personnel system had fallen to 33,213.
Ducey’s predecessor, Jan Brewer, signed legislation in 2012 that made it easier for the state government to fire employees without cause.
Ducey gave department directors a mandate when he took office in 2015 to shrink the size of government and shrink they did.
And over the past couple years, the ranks of state government have fallen back down to the lows seen during the recession’s depths.
Ducey said Tuesday that the state needs additional workers in some areas, such as the Department of Corrections and Department of Child Safety.
Still, he argued staffing cannot be measured entirely by numbers of employees, noting that he has challenged agency directors to use more technology where possible and ensure greater efficiency.
"We are in a position today where we are much more cash flow positive than we have been in the past. What I don't want to see us do is go on a spending spree, or see any turf wars or fiefdom-building," he told reporters after an event marking Manufacturing Month.
Critics argue that while Ducey may be able to point to healthy balance sheets, the state government's financial health has come at the expense of some crucial services.
"We've been underfunding, sweeping from other areas to make sure we balance the budget. We have a Rainy Day Fund. We have a budget surplus. Everyone is excited about that. But at what cost?" House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma, said.
State employees are being paid more than they were during the recession.
By the middle of 2019, the average pay for a state employee was $47,998, up from $42,304 in 2010.
The current state budget includes pay increases for some state employees, such as corrections officers, police and social workers.
But the salaries are not keeping pace with inflation when compared to workers in the private sector, according to the new report.
Officials have said that the rates of pay are making it harder to keep the employees the state already has.
By this summer, 19% of jobs in the state’s corrections department were empty, raising what outgoing director Chuck Ryan called “imminent safety concerns to staff and inmate.”
About 91% of correctional officers received overtime pay during the last fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the Department of Child Safety's own five-year plan described turnover among staff as one of its greatest challenges.
The Arizona Department of Administration is required to submit the staffing report to the governor, secretary of state and Legislature by Sept. 1 each year detailing how the pay of state employees compares to the pay of other government employees and private-sector workers.
State law also requires that the report include data on the cost of paying workers overtime in state agencies, turnover among employees and why employees are leaving government.
But the latest 10-page report – the thinnest in years – does not include any of the latter information.
The Department of Administration has not published it online.
The Arizona Republic obtained a copy from the Legislature, which only received the report this month.
The report describes Arizona’s rising minimum wage as “one of the most pressing issues facing the state personnel system.”
Voters chose to raise the statewide minimum wage in 2016 to $12 an hour by 2020.
The increase does not apply to state employees but it will ensure government workers earning the lowest wages could earn more with just about any other employer. The report does not say how many state workers would fall into that category.
Number of employees in the state personnel system, by fiscal year:
2008: 37,956
2009: 35,392
2010: 33,213
2011: 33,906
2012: 34,223
2013: 33,621
2014: 34,161
2015: 34,200
2016: 33,652
2017: 33,222
2018: 33,200
2019: 32,997
*The State personnel system includes all agencies within the executive branch excluding the Department of Public Safety, Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, Arizona Board of Regents, Peace Officer Standards Training Board, Cotton Research and Protection Council and the state universities.
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