ITD says it’s saved $3.5 million from realigning jobs, cutting supervisors

ITD Director Brian Ness told legislative budget writers this morning that his agency has completed a realignment that was expected to take a year in just eight months, and it’s resulted in $3.5 million in salary savings, while not eliminating anyone’s job or cutting anyone’s pay. Seem impossible?  The department had lots of retirements and vacancies that either weren’t filled, or were filled with new, lower-level workers who make less pay; that’s how the savings came in. “That money was reinvested into road equipment and highway construction,” Ness said.

Sixty-two supervisory jobs that oversaw just one employee were eliminated; 55 supervisors were moved to front-line positions like maintenance worker, inspector or counter person; and 73 supervisors were moved to front-line support positions, like finance or information technology office jobs. Those supervisors kept their pay when they switched jobs, though some chose to retire instead.

ITD’s workforce is older; 50 percent will be eligible to retire over the next five to six years. The agency had about 100 vacancies in the past year.