There’s been a bit of a stir about the pay raises of two NC DHHS employees in the last week or so. The entire story, to me, seems like a giant deflection play by various groups who lost argument about the education budget and teacher pay.  At any rate, this past week, the AP was reporting that these positions were never “posted”.  I had a suspicion as to why these positions were raised they way they were, so I did some poking around and digging.

I reached out to a few sources who know how state employment works and did a little bit of reading over at OSP. Here’s the link, in case someone out there needs to research: ARTICLE 1 – Chapter 126 – State Personnel Act.pdf

I’m going to break down the article addressing the big things one at a time; my findings are in bold.  Via CBS Charlotte:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Pat McCrory says a pair of 24-year-old campaign staffers landed senior-level jobs in his administration because they were the most qualified applicants, beating out older candidates.

That’s not what McCrory said in an interview with WNCN. McCory stated they were given promotions within the department. I confirmed that one was a transfer and the other was given a reallocation up by looking up Diaz and McKillip in the N&O’s own State Government Salary Lookup. I am sure the AP had access to this.

But the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, where Matthew McKillip and Ricky Diaz got big promotions and raises after only a few weeks of government service, has been unable to provide any evidence their positions were ever advertised or that other applicants were considered.

In response to a public records request from The Associated Press, the state agency indicated there were no job postings or written skill requirements for the high-paying positions awarded to the young Republicans.

McKillip, the chief policy adviser to DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos, is paid an annual salary of $87,500. Diaz makes $85,000 a year as the communications director for the massive state agency, which has about 10,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $18 billion.

The two positions are exempted from the hiring rules and procedures governing most state jobs.

That’s misleading because, as I suspected and confirmed, these are exempt positions. As such, they are not required to be posted or advertised.  I have to wonder who proof read because the AP answers its own question with that last line: “The two positions are exempted from the hiring rules and procedures governing most state jobs.”

The governor’s office, DHHS and the Office of State Personnel have all refused to comment about the process through which McKillip and Diaz were hired in January and then promoted in early April. Emails sent with written questions received no response.

I was informed that the governor’s Communications Director was given three hours to respond.  If I had that little amount of time, I’d hold off too.

McKillip received a nearly 35 percent raise after only three months on the job, while Diaz got a 37 percent boost. The big raises came despite a March 8 directive the governor sent to state agencies to freeze salary increases, limit purchases and reduce travel to help cover shortfalls in state Medicaid funding.

That seems extremely misleading, because it implies this was done as an exception to the governors policy. As the article states, this was a promotion. Logically, it would follow that just as in the news business when a reporter is promoted to editor, he or she assumes the frozen salary of the position. 

McCrory insists McKillip and Diaz got their positions on merit, not politics.

A review of job descriptions for similar government positions posted online by the Office of State Personnel show McKillip and Diaz don’t meet the academic or experience requirements to qualify for even entry-level positions in the areas they now oversee. Their pay also exceeds the listed maximums for the most senior listed positions.

Seems to me that this is a critical mistake in methodology since there isn’t a comparable position listed online.  

McKillip is classified as a “Health and Human Services Senior Planner.” The state job description for an entry-level Human Services Planner I requires a four-year degree in public service administration, psychology, sociology or social work, as well as two years of administrative or consultative experience in human services. A Human Services Planner IV, the highest level carrying a maximum salary of $74,719, requires a master’s degree in public or human service, along with a minimum of three years experienced.

Apples to Wrenches. This is a false comparison.  The position listed here is non-exempt. It’s also a service position. For example, its duties would include planning the implementation of a program. McKillip’s position is policy.

What the AP has done here is like comparing a budget analyst to the senior budget policy advisor. One position completes tasks, the other develops policy.

According to the state guidelines, an entry level Information and Communications Specialist I should have a four-year degree in journalism or English, or an “equivalent combination of training or experience.”

Information and Communications Specialist III, the highest classification, requires a degree in journalism or English along with four years of experience in communications, public relations or publicity work. The maximum listed salary for the position is $71,346.

Once again, AP is comparing an non-exempt position which comes with job protections few non-state jobs have, to an exempt position which is at-will.   The guidelines AP is citing apply to non-exempt, not exempt positions.

The taxpayer-supported salaries for McKillip and Diaz are about three times the starting salary for North Carolina public school teachers, who received no raises in the $20.6 billion state budget signed by McCrory. The budget also eliminated a program that rewards teachers for earning master’s degrees.

This is a cheap political shot. I’d also call it a lazy lie. These individual salaries had no bearing as to whether state employees received a well-deserved raise. Nowhere in the story does the AP state the fact that DHHS’ payroll is $21 million less than it was under the Perdue.

It’s also worth noting that the local individual districts control pay raises and the large salaries and perks of Superintendents has largely been ignored.  A fine example of media blinders is the story not picked up about Brunswick teachers getting $1,000 bonuses.

McCrory signed a law last week giving him direct authority to hire and fire about 1,000 additional state government employees without adhering to state personnel policy, a measure he said would improve accountability. The governor has also said it is unfair to compare the jobs and salaries of his former campaign staffers to the pay and experience guidelines established for teachers.

As far as I can tell, that’s just plain old incorrect. The modernization of the State Personnel Act added an additional 500 exempt positions.

Speaking to a business group in Asheville on Monday, the governor suggested his administration is getting unfair and negative coverage of his economic and tax policies because news reporters don’t have the educations or experience to understand his policies.

“This is too complex for the journalists,” McCrory said. “They don’t have economics degrees. They’ve not been in business.”

In January, McCrory hired Blannie Cheng Garrett as his adviser on jobs and the economy at a salary of $85,500. Records show Garrett, now 28, was quickly promoted to the senior rank of deputy secretary at the N.C. Department of Commerce with a new salary of $110,000, a raise of nearly 30 percent.

My sources tell me that Ms. Cheng has never received a raise. Also, my sources tell me she dropped ‘Garrett’ a long while back and that Cheng has been paid $110,000 since the day she came to work for the state. 

According to her LinkedIn profile, Garrett has a bachelor’s degree in international politics. After earning her law degree in 2010, she worked two years at a Raleigh firm where she focused on corporate taxes and private equity transactions.

Cheng has done considerable work in economic development at her previous firms. AP is taking a page out of the blogger book by checking linked in instead of conferring with the actual source? Cool.

She does not list a degree in economics.

From what my sources told me, her position does not require a degree in economics. Did AP even look up the job description?

I am sure this won’t end the complaining on the Left, because I am sure no one on Perdue’s staff ever was transferred or had a large raise.

@WRAL Where was this scrutiny under Perdue? Easley? http://t.co/LiKN5Mu0D7 #NCPOL

— LL1885 (@LadyLiberty1885) August 29, 2013

Related Reading:

Gov. Pat McCrory says media, others skew GOP image – Charlotte Business Journal

School funding: The rest of the story | The Locker Room

NC House Republicans- State education spending: the facts – NC GOP