Egolf Examines Exempt Appointments

At a legislative hearing Wednesday during which lawmakers discussed deep cuts (30-40 percent) in grants for outreach in the DCA budget, Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, grilled Ashman on the number and salaries of exempt employees in the department. He said he would give up 10 percent of his per diem if DCA cut the salaries of gov-ex employees by 10 percent. Acknowledging that wasn't really a fair deal, Egolf said the point is, "We've got a program (local arts grants) with statewide reach and bipartisan support, and a lot of folks rely on these moneys."

Egolf was then appointed to a subcommittee to see what DCA funds could be moved around to preserve the grant money.

As the Legislature debates spending, he said, "We are certainly going to look at the number of employees and salaries. Everything has to be on the table."

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