Debate rages on job cut e-mails

MONTPELIER, Vt.—Allegations of bad faith about state job cuts flew Thursday, with Democratic lawmakers accusing Gov. Jim Douglas' administration of trying to hide the true nature of some of the cuts and a Douglas aide labeling the lawmakers and state workers' union dishonest.

The debate raged the day after the Vermont State Employees' Association released excerpts of internal administration e-mails it received in a public records request. The excerpts appeared to depict administration officials as trying to protect the governor politically and had one high-ranking official describing lawmakers as "like children."

Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs charged that the e-mail excerpts were "taken out of context and manipulated to suit the union's political purposes. ... It shows how low the union bosses are willing to sink in a political environment to score some cheap political points."

Gibbs took particular objection to e-mail excerpts in which an administration official, Human Resources Director Molly Paulger, suggested that vacant social worker jobs in the Agency of Human Services might be reclassified so that the administration wouldn't be seen cutting social worker positions.

He said the union excerpted the suggestion from Paulger without revealing until a day after it released the e-mail excerpts that the positions didn't end up being reclassified. "The actual entire scope of the conversation shows that everyone thought that was a bad idea," Gibbs said. "The reason they don't tell you that is because it doesn't fit their deceptive narrative."

The union responded Thursday by releasing yet another e-mail exchange showing Paulger was not the only one to think reclassifying and then eliminating social worker positions was a good idea.

Gail Rushford, human resources manager at the Agency of Human Services, wrote to Steve Dale, commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, and another official on the afternoon of April 3, about a social worker position in St. Albans that had been vacant for more than six months. She asked for their thoughts on a plan to "reallocate the vacancy to Accountant C, ... and then abolish it as part of our vacancy reduction."

Rushford added, "That way it won't look like we abolished a direct service position," and concluded by asking, "so please let me know if you want me to proceed."

Dale wrote back a one-word answer at 9:52 that evening: "yes."

In another e-mail the next day, Rushford relayed the reclassification request to Paulger.

Gibbs and Deputy Administration Secretary Linda McIntire insisted in interviews Thursday that that still did not mean there was a reduction in the number of social workers serving Vermonters. McIntire said the number of "filled social worker positions remained the same or even went up" during the period when the first round 150 of the total 400 job cuts planned -- were being implemented.

McIntire reiterated, too, that the goal was to achieve the 400 cuts through attrition, without laying anyone off. She said she regretted writing an e-mail in which she said members of the House Appropriations Committee were "like children," saying she and other administration officials had had a "good partnership" with lawmakers.

Paulger said Thursday that position reclassifications are routine in state government. "We regularly have 100 pending position reviews." She said she did not recall the April e-mail exchange. She said the Department for Children and Families had been trying to add social workers during the past year.

Lawmakers expressed frustration that their efforts to examine the effects of state staff reductions might be stymied if positions were reclassified before being cut.

"If there is a willingness to reclassify positions before they're put on the list, how do we know what the impact on our communities really is when you cut these positions?" Rep. Mark Larson, D-Burlington and a member of the Joint Legislative Government Accountability Committee, asked in an interview. "It undermines the integrity of the whole discussion."

The chairwoman of the Accountability Committee, Rep. Donna Sweaney, D-Windsor; House Speaker Gaye Symington, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Rep. Martha Heath, D-Westford and chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, all issued statements hitting on the theme of Douglas being more concerned about appearances than services to Vermonters.

"It’s clear his paid PR team values protecting Douglas’ image more than serving Vermont," Symington said.