DES MOINES –Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today released the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s plan to respond to the 10 percent across the board budget cut announced by Governor Culver in October.
The Department was able to avoid 36 layoffs due to the announcement this week that members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) voted to approve five furlough days and other concessions by contract covered employees this fiscal year.
Unfortunately, the Department did layoff two employees today. Both were members of Iowa United Professionals (IUP) union. The layoffs occurred within the Department’s Animal Industry Bureau and the Department’s laboratory facility in Ankeny that tests dairy products, samples from meat and poultry processing plants, and other samples taken by Department inspectors.
No more layoffs are expected by the Department for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2010.
No AFSCME covered employees can be laid off for the remainder of the current fiscal year as a result of the union’s agreement with the Governor’s office. The five furlough days by AFSCME covered employees will not be sufficient to cover the Department’s shortfall, but the Department has received assurance from the Governor’s office that the savings achieved by other agencies will be used to meet the Department’s shortfall.
“Layoffs have been our last resort, but due to the significant cuts the Department has faced this was our only option,” Northey said. “With these layoffs, the mandatory leave without pay for employees and the positions that have been left unfilled, the services that are able to be provided by the Department will likely be affected.”
Besides the layoffs and mandatory leave without pay for AFSCME covered employees, the Department has made cuts to several of the Department’s programs as well. No Department programs were eliminated, however, the following program cuts have been made:
- $90,000 from the Iowa Farmers Market Nutrition Program. This program provides coupons to seniors and participants in the WIC program that can be used to buy fresh produce at farmers markets and farmstands. The program will still be in operation, but the number of clients that will be able to be served will be reduced.
- $20,000 from the Farm to School Program. This program links elementary, secondary, public and non-public schools with Iowa farmers that are able to provide schools with fresh, Iowa grown food.
- $34,000 reduction in reimbursement for expenses to soil district commissioners.
- $25,000 cut to Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and Gypsy Moth eradication programs
- 12 days of mandatory leave without pay for the Department’s 38 non-contract employees
The Department’s budget has been cut a total of 23 percent since the beginning of fiscal 2009. These cuts represent $5.2 million that has been removed from the Department’s budget, reducing it from $22 million in FY09 to its current level of $16.8 million.
This level of funding is approximately the same as the Department’s appropriation for FY1994.
“We will spend less money in this fiscal year than was spent 16 years ago, all while state government has grown approximately 48 percent in the same period of time,” Northey said.
Between layoffs and unfilled positions, the Department will be down 44 positions following the layoffs announced today from our authorized level of 408 Full Time Employees (FTEs), which is 10.7 percent reduction in the Department’s workforce. If not for the agreement by AFSCME, the additional layoffs would have lead to 80 open positions, or nearly 20 percent of the Department’s workforce.
The Department’s staffing level of 364 FTEs is a historically low level for the Department and represents a 23 percent reduction in workforce since 1991.
In addition to the layoffs, mandatory leave without pay, not filling open positions and program cuts, the Department had previously had undertaken a number additional steps to deal with the budget cuts. These include making voluntary leave without pay was made available to all employees and using one-time funding sources, such as depreciation funds that were authorized during the legislature last session.
Other cost savings efforts include moving the metrology lab to Ellsworth Community College, greatly limiting out of state travel, cuts in program spending, reducing in-state travel costs, keeping vehicles longer, altering cell phone contracts to reduce costs, and other measures.
Department Overview
The Department is responsible for a wide variety of consumer protection and agriculture promotion programs. This includes regulating meat processing, commercial feed and fertilizer, pesticide application, and dairy production and processing. The Weights and Measures Bureau makes sure both buyers and sellers are treated fairly at the gas pump, grocery store or grain elevator.
The State Climatologist, Entomologist, Horticulturalist and Veterinarian are also all part of the Department. Other areas of responsibility for the Department include Agriculture Statistics, the Iowa Horse and Dog Breeding program and helping promote the more than 210 farmers markets located across the state.
Land stewardship is also central to the work of the Department. The Division of Soil Conservation provides farmers with expertise and funds to help them install practices that preserve our highly productive soil, prevent erosion and protect our critical waterways. The Department is focused on making sure future Iowans can experience the same high quality of life that past generations have enjoyed in our state.
