ALC-Personnel

Request for the departure. Sorry. Sherman Mr over this item be requests from department higher ed for a issue for associate general counsel the line Maxwell Hendren sixty four thousand S. to be paying one hundred thousand with a total compensation package of roughly hundred twenty eight thousand after matching your the expansion of the issue system by two community colleges in one four year institution system needs disposition to assist all of the system institutions with legal matters they also for the position will prepare and review contracts for all system campuses the Department higher ed recommends the requested position. Do we have any questions for item B.. C. N. nine that you're entering the motion for review. I can. okay we have a motion. At second. Thank you. All. All invoke the favor what I. All right thank you I am C. Mr chairman I don't see is request the Department of higher ed for national park college decree to project program manager positions from the higher its central growth pool these positions will have a line at a maximum of eighty four thousand dollars but they estimate paying roughly fifty to sixty thousand dollars having a total compensation of roughly eighty thousand dollars after match one of the positions will be responsible for education training by facilitating an apprenticeship program the adjunct faculty the other position will be what act as a lead within the administrative software team providing administer solutions in automation initiatives for the campus the Department higher ed recommends the requested positions. Hey questions on a I don't see. You know questions entertain a motion for review. In a motion and a second I read a second all in favor. All opposed thank you continue. Mr chairman I and D. is requesting the Arkansas department health minority health commission they're requesting one position from the opium growth pool the department is asking for a registered nurse position at a grade in peel one position will be responsible for providing community health care assistance and alleviate the commission's reliance on volunteers and contract workers to perform the duties of an RN will provide health screenings disseminate healthcare education materials provide counseling and referrals as necessary the office of personnel management has recommended the requested position. Any questions. Is that. Seed eighty eight. You senator Hammer that you're recognized thank you could S. the agency questions please. I don Adams Arkansas department of health. Right here. Could you okay a U. S. C. Frazier Arkansas minority health commission you're recognized. Thank you thank you Mr my question is how does the salary maybe this is directed to the department of health because we have our answer working in other facilities how does the salary range compared to our and salary such as at the Arkansas Health Service center or at the of human development centers and the other. Senator Hammer this is the the salary range for the MPO one for all state nurses unless they have some kind of special greeted which we do not so this is our normal salary range that all our nurses we have about three hundred nurses in the health department and this is the range in which the salary grid there are paid on. And you know currently how many nursing vacancy I'm a nursing positions are vacant that you haven't been able to fill in those positions. Not off the top of my head I mean we are experiencing a higher level turnover in the last six to nine months. Okay could it could I get that from you please absolutely you can email or call me with either one and then do you anticipate that is gonna be a problem picking up this nurse for the duties or your a got somebody in mind no we plan to advertise the position but we have been able to recruit nurses. Okay for for all the agency positions or for just this one that's being created are within the health department for the variety of positions the variety of roles we have for nurses we've been able to recruit in some instances our number of applicants are lower but course we do offer the state benefits and in some instances are ours are much better than some of the other employers of nurses so we have been able to to recruit but our turnover has increased okay thank you thank you Mr. Thank you of the any further questions. If not entertain a motion for review of this item. Motion I have a second that a second all in favor. Thank you the side of Mr Robson this chairman item one this is a miscellaneous federal request for two positions at the department of health which have already been approved by peer the appropriation of the positions themselves personal is tasked with reviewing the classifications assigned to the positions request classifications are public health section chief three GS ten and a registered nurse and in peel one these positions will be utilized for a grant from the CDC in the department of health and Human Services work within the department of health Arkansas stroke registry program opium is recommended the requested classifications. Thank you any questions. You know questions it okay right there no questions entertain a motion for review that a motion to I have a second and second thank you all in favor. Thank you continue Mr. Sorry Mr chairman I D. two is the last federal grant requests for one attorney position at the department of inspector generals for housing commission US department housing and urban development hi provide the funding for the position peers already reviewed the appropriation and opium is recommended the requested classification. But any questions. Yeah no question can be a motion for review. Emotion I have a second got a second all in favor. Thank you continue. Chairman item three is a request for two positions at national park college under the American rescue plan act the institutions requesting to registered nurse positions to provide emergency support to students during the pandemic peer has already reviewed the appropriation in the positions OPM has recommended the requested classifications. Six sixty seven. Representative that you're recognized. Thank you Mr chair I just staff may know this are these going to be. These temporary positions or the positions are going to be filled on a more permanent basis. Past the pandemic I guess we're having funds I have temporarily for a familiar transfusion or Department higher there someone here from. Sorry. Jewelery with national park college these are temporary positions as their grant funded through the American rescue plan so it is how long do you anticipate them being. And probably through the fiscal year so June thirty okay and then Just I don't know that has to do with position a server but you said it shows two million dollars worth the lost revenue in this request Is that. What is that up what is though is the lost revenue just from loss of tuition loss of. It's combined loss of tuition and then other services that we've lost due to the pandemic so I concessions things that are yes the housing sessions housing okay thank you you're welcome. Thank you for the questions. Send out a motion for review a motion and a second all in favor. Thank you. Mr chairman I'd be for his request for one educational specialist position the Arkansas school for the blind the American rescue plan act the preparation for this grant was approved previously through peer and they're asking for the position to be used as a reading specialist to address learning loss opium is recommended the requested cluster. Thank you any questions. The. C. seventy thank you for okay I see no questions that I have a motion for review got a motion and a second all in favor. Thank you. F. one Mr Robinson thank you Mr chairman item F. is a pack of two contract amendments provided by the state wide shared still what you're services employee benefits division after recommendation by the board of finance item F. one is amendment to the contract with HMO partners The Amendment add an additional forty three million dollars to the contract to extend the contract services for one year currently a hundred and seven million dollars been paid to date and the total projected cost of the contract is two hundred seventy one million dollars HMO partners provides health insurance administration including network medical management actuarial services in E. A. P. services to state employees in public. Got a question seed eighty eight. Senator Hammer. You represent recognized thank you for the agency please. We director employee benefits division afternoon up. The up. I think tomorrow morning the consultants are going to be in front of the committee to maybe bring some suggestions did they have a chance to review this contract and see if there are any savings that could be created through restructuring the way we do business with the BT. No they did not this country something that we've been negotiating with Blue Cross on really since the spring and I think that the timetable to consultants have been on has been very very tight given the bread to the contract they've been on the timetable they've been they've been asked to come up perform under. Do you think is position that you're in this is something that the consultants out of take a look at to see if there's any savings from. I know that they've looked very extensively at our contract with Blue Cross and they've looked in detail at some of the things we can and should be doing differently the contract that's before the committee today is really an extension so that we can maintain operations going into open enrollment which starts in October and then next year's plan years so that our folks can continue getting healthcare coverage through calendar year twenty two I think the intent here is to make sure that we can maintain those operations kind of keep everything out of the ditch is until recommendations of from Siegel and some of the other folks some of the other ideas that are on the table can be put into action. And and this is just a one year extension that's before state so if in the course of reviewing a look at everything we see that there may be a different way to do business other than this we have the time to to address changing it between now and next year's enrollment that's the plan the last time we did in our of P. for the third party administrator for this contract it was very long and involved process this is a very complicated contract so it's something that we really want to take our time with we want to be thoughtful about we really want to not in a position where we have to rush it out. Our thank you. Thank you are there any further questions. There's not I need a motion for a motion for approval of. Okay so it is rather. Senator Hickey is searches for that on the letter that the letter request approval to contracts which expire on December thirty first twenty twenty one and we're just extending that they they do expire December twenty twenty one correct indeed for December thirty first twenty twenty correct thank date spire the end of the current calendar year so this is a one year extension to give us that additional talk I'm sorry if that wasn't clear. Thank you I do have a question Mr you are both contracts that way. Or does one of them so the Blue Cross contract originally expired I want to say in August was a weird date that when I came on for five months ago we started getting into this that August deadline really compressed any time we had to look at this so we extended the contract out by four months so that it goes on that county your basis now so that's what the basis it'll have going forward thank you Mr believe. K. no further questions I thank you this item needs to be approved so if I could entertain a motion for approval I've got a motion and a second I've got a second all in favor. Thank you if to Mr Robinson Mr chairman item if two is when your extension of a cooperative purchasing agreement for a contract with colonial life that was solicited by source well according to E. D. the current contract cost is nine hundred and twenty thousand dollars in the amended contract costs will be nine hundred ninety one thousand dollars which is an increase of seventy thousand the purpose of this contract just right group term life insurance for state and public school employees. Any questions was item. This is another approval item and to. This is no more questions that tear it down a motion for approval. Get a motion got a second all in favor. Is there any other business to come before this committee. Just a report okay I'm sorry go ahead miss Robinson Mr chairman items G. H. I and J. these are all reports to the Committee there's no action to be taken on these reports but when retaining questions if if anybody has any questions for Mister Robinson regarding the reports. C. N. nine. We stand adjourned.