by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector
Topeka — While state hospital and corrections leaders are touting a new pay initiative aimed at a growing staffing crisis in facilities across the state, some lawmakers are questioning the viability of temporary pay increases.
Under Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan, state employees at 24/7 facilities in the Kansas Department of Corrections, state hospitals under the Department for Aging and Disability Services, and the Kansas Commission of Veterans Affairs Office veteran’s homes would receive long-term and temporary pay increases. The initiative includes a permanent base pay increase and temporary pay differentials — extra compensation for employees during staffing shortages.
KDOC secretary Jeff Zmuda said the initiative could prove crucial at a time when shortages are reaching unseen levels. He said staff at the El Dorado and Lansing facilities have been working 12-hour shifts since the latter part of July. Of the first 23 weeks of the fiscal year, vacancies have increased in 21 weeks.
“We’ve traditionally struggled to recruit and retain a workforce in corrections, but recently we’ve reached a tipping point and are seeing vacancies at a level I’ve not seen in my entire career,” Zmuda told lawmakers Monday on the Legislative Budget Committee, led by Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill. “Fatigue and current compensation continued to contribute to the rise in the number of vacancies and uniform positions.”
As of Dec. 13, KDOC has 458 vacant uniform officer positions and 68 vacant non-uniform positions in correctional facilities. States across the country are experiencing similar challenges to the department of corrections and some — like Nebraska, Florida and Arkansas — have implemented pay plan designed to address these shortages.
The primary piece of the Kansas initiative is a base pay increase for all KDOC job classes and nursing jobs. There will also be four additional, temporary pay increases for 24/7 facility staff, KDOC security staff at these facilities, nursing staff at 24/7 facilities and all staff working at these facilities when staffing reaches critical levels.
There will also be a one-time $3,500 bonus for salaried staff at KDOC, KDADS and KCVAO 24/7 facilities. The base-pay increases were phased in starting Nov. 28, following approval from the State Finance Council.
“With the temporary increases it puts us in a good competitive place for introductory new nurses right out of school with little experience compared to other health care employers in the Greater Kansas City or eastern Kansas market that we’re trying to recruit from,” said Scott Bruner, deputy secretary of hospitals and facilities for KDADS.
The total cost of the plan would be $30.3 million in 2022 and could cost about $60 million in 2023.
While legislators supported the intent of the plan and the need for such action, some committee members from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the temporary pay increases.
“I have my doubts whether it’ll ever go away, totally, because it’s just hard to give someone that big of a pay increase when you’re talking 4, 5 or 6, even $8 an hour and they have it for a few months or a year and then it goes away,” said Rep Kyle Hoffman, R-Coldwater. “I’m not saying it doesn’t need to be done, but to say it’s temporary is maybe a little bit of a fallacy.”
“Is it being clearly communicated to all the employees that this impacts, so there’s not an expectation?” said Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-Kansas City, Kansas. “Because the last thing we’d want to happen is for the rug to be pulled out from under them.”
While the base pay increase was initiated with existing agency funds, ensuring the rest is paid will require legislative budget cooperation.
Adam Proffitt, state budget director, said communication with facility directors was underway to ensure there was no confusion about the temporary differential pay. He said the plan left wiggle room to reevaluate down the line.
“The base pay we felt was warranted and needed, so we made a quick action. That is now the new state market for salaries in these positions,” Proffitt said. We didn’t want to have a wild swing and make all the other differentials permanent today, not knowing what the market is going to bring and not knowing what the staffing levels are going to bring in six to 12 months.”
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See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/22/kansas-lawmakers-question-short-term-payments-in-strongly-backed-24-7-state-facility-pay-initiative/.