DES To Explain Job Cuts to State Lawmakers

By David Darman on Friday, January 16, 2004.

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The head of the Department of Environmental Services is scheduled to testify before a legislative committee next week/ on Wednesday.

The Commissioner needs to explain his decision to lay off 16 employees.

New Hampshire Public Radio's David Darman has more.

Senator Dick Green is vice chairman of the joint Legislative Fiscal Committee.

He says DES Commissioner Michael Nolin needs to explain his actions to the committee.
08 142 the budget basically said that if they were going to do any cuts or any reductions in out of the general fund, that they had to have prior approval of the fiscal committee. And those reductions could not generate a reduction in services or a reduction in fees or grants or programs to local communities and the reductions could not as a result increase any fees. 08 214

The layoffs at the Department of Environmental Services are expected to save about 2.3 million dollars over the next 18 months.

DES assistant commissioner Michael Walls says the department is downsizing to comply with a footnote to the last budget.

The footnote asked the department to find 5 million dollars in savings, as long as the savings didn?t compromise any services.

Walls says he and Commissioner Nolin believe the layoffs, while painful, achieve this goal.
18 57 we just think it makes good policy good sense to try and look for ways to spend less general fund money and still the accomplish the mission of the department. 18 111

Walls didn't say exactly which jobs would be lost.

But he did provide a general breakdown of how the layoffs have been spread through the department.
13 107 so there were, I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, 4 from waste management, 2 from air division, and 5 from water division, and 6 from commissioners office. 13 125

The layoffs surprised the union representing 6 of the 16 affected employees.

Paul Stokes is president of the State Employees Association.

He says the announcement left union officials scratching their heads.
10 53 there was a lot of confusion back and forth because of what the budget actually says, that they're supposed to be finding 5 million dollars in general fund savings if they can replace them with federal funds, and we didn't see how that would cause layoffs. 10 107

One of the workers receiving a pink slip is the coordinator of a state program that monitors 150 lakes.

The Volunteer Lakes Assessment Program relies on the coordinator to keep track of 500 hundred volunteers who collect water samples.

Joel Harrington of the New Hampshire Lakes Association says the program helps keep the state's lakes healthy.

He worries the program will fall apart without a coordinator.
03 09 as we know it, there will be no one person to mobilize these volunteers. There will be, as we know it, there will be no water quality data that is reported to des on the lakes, the 150 lakes that are covered under this program.

DES officials say they can assure lawmakers and the public that programs like this will not end because of the layoffs.

They say their plan will put another employee in place to coordinate the lakes program.

DES officials will have the chance to make their case before the Legislative Fiscal Committee on Wednesday.