Trash in, trash out

Omaha Sen. Heath Mello believes that statewide information on job vacancies would be helpful to senators in making budget decisions.

So he asked that the Department of Administrative Services provide a vacancy report every quarter. He put his request into state law.

But the first report - a 693-page report that came out in late October - is not all that useful.

Much of the information is wrong.

The report shows that no one works for the state college system. No one teaching at Peru or Wayne or Chadron. No one working at computers in the system office in Lincoln. The report says there are more than 800 vacant jobs in the state college system, when there are actually just 19.

And, if you believe the report, there's almost no one working in the Attorney General's office, where the report shows 58 vacancies. The report used 2002 data, and even back then there weren't 58 vacancies, said a spokesperson for the Attorney General. Currently the office has no vacant positions, according to Attorney General Jon Bruning.

The Supreme Court does NOT have 178 vacancies, as the report indicates. As of Thursday, there were 19 vacancies in the entire system, which includes local courts and probation services.

It's a great report, says Carlos Castillo, director of the Department of Administrative Services. "It is a very powerful tool," he said of this first vacancy report. "It is a very detailed report. It gives us a lot of insight into vacancies," he said.

What about those errors?

The errors are the responsibility of individual agencies, Castillo said. "Agencies are responsible for the data in the report," he said.

The state college system stopped using the state system (called NIS, for Nebraska Information System) on July 1 and began a partnership with the university for payroll and personnel issues, according to Carolyn Murphy, vice chancellor for finance. NIS apparently offered a report, with no information. Thus, the 800-plus vacancies.

The Supreme Court does not use the NIS system to look at vacancies but has its own manual system to track the number of vacant jobs, according to Judy Beutler, with the court system.

Some independent agencies don't use the NIS system, said Mike McCrory, state personnel director. So the numbers reflected in the NIS report for those agencies will not be accurate.

But many agencies that report to the governor had inaccurate vacancy reports, based on questioning by Mello during budget hearings last week. The Department of Correctional Services has 97 vacant positions, not the 209 in the report. The State Patrol has 26 vacancies, not 37; the Department of Roads generally has 50 to 60 vacancies, not 146.

The report can be valuable, assuming the information is accurate, said McCrory.

Mello, a member of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, believes the state might be able to save money in the future if the leaders had more information on job vacancies.

If an agency intentionally doesn't fill positions, then uses the money to pay other operating costs, state senators ought to know that. It's a transparency issue, he says.

Mello says he wants to know why DAS put out a report that contained incorrect information.

Mello's question last week - to every agency appearing at budget hearings - about the job vacancy number has undoubtedly gotten the attention of state agencies.

The governor's budget director, Gerry Oligmueller, says he expects the numbers in the report for the next quarter will be much more accurate.

Who's to blame for property tax increase?

The blame game has begun.

The state Legislature is not responsible for property tax increases, according to senators on the Education Committee. School spending is to blame.

However, when senators and the governor decide they have to cut state spending (rather than raise the income or sales tax), they get blamed for property tax increases. Cut state aid, and school districts will have to raise property taxes to offset the losses, or so the argument goes.

Rising school costs are the real problem, senators said during a discussion on state aid last week. And these costs are driven primarily by the collective bargaining system that raises teacher's salaries and offers other incentives like additional money for teachers with advanced degrees, senators said.

"We are providing a significant amount of money for public education, and we have very little control," said Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha.

Sicko senators

At least three of the 49 state senators have suffered with a very bad flu, very likely H1N1.

"It was like being hit by a truck," said Speaker Mike Flood, who likely got the flu from his 3-year-old son. His son was tested and did have H1N1, though Flood was not tested.

Revenue Committee Chairman Abbie Cornett said she gave the flu to her family, and one of her children ended up in the hospital (and recovered).

Sen. Ken Schilz of Ogallala said he survived the "worst cough and congestion I've ever had," though he's not certain it was H1N1.

Whatever it was, "I was sick and I survived it."

Speaker Flood of Norfolk sent out a memo to legislative staff based on his experience: Don't come to work and expose others if you think you might have the flu, he suggests.

"Its not a pretty thing. I suggest everyone try to avoid it at all costs,' said Cornett of Bellevue.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com