HONOLULU — Heads of Hawaii state departments urged senators to reverse the state House’s decision to cut more than 900 vacant positions from department budgets.
HONOLULU — Heads of Hawaii state departments urged senators to reverse the state House’s decision to cut more than 900 vacant positions from department budgets.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee met Tuesday to hear testimony about the House’s $23.25 billion draft biennial budget, which falls about $590 million short of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s request.
The House proposal adds funding for various positions and programs but removes funding for many that have been vacant for two years or more.
State department heads say the cuts are indiscriminate and harmful.
“You are always going to see a certain percentage of vacancies in each department,” Barbara Krieg, director of Department of Human Resources Development, told senators Tuesday. “Simply looking at an across-the-board date or percentage doesn’t take into account the needs from every department.”
The departments of natural resources, public safety, human resources and health each stand to lose funding for more than 100 positions. The exact amount of the potential funding loss was not yet available.
After hearing testimony for several hours, the Senate committee decided to delay decisionmaking.
House Finance Committee Chairwoman Sylvia Luke has said the committee chose to remove funding for vacancies to increase fiscal transparency because departments have been using the money for purposes such as vacation buyouts.
But Krieg argues that the length of time that a position is empty isn’t a reflection of how important it is. She says many employees take over the responsibilities of vacant positions.
Dwight Takamine, head of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, says that more than 80 percent of the department’s budget relies on federal funding. He says the House’s move to slice 11 positions in the department will have strong ramifications in light of looming federal cuts.