Workers in Iowa executive branch fall under Branstad

DES MOINES - The number of workers in Iowa's executive branch has fallen considerably since Gov. Terry Branstad took office this year, and more cuts are expected for the next budget year that begins July 1.

The Republican governor said the drop helps fulfill his campaign promise to shrink state government, but some politicians in his own party question whether there have been too many cuts.

The executive branch includes all state employees that do not work for universities, the Legislature or the court system. State records obtained by the Des Moines Register show Iowa's executive branch had 18,347 full-time employees as of May 12, the last pay period for which complete records were available. That's 251 fewer than when Branstad took office and the fewest employees since 1993.

Branstad's administration warned in January that some state jobs would be lost. Most of those cut since then have come through attrition.

But the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced plans to cut 132 jobs, mostly part-time positions in parks and law enforcement, because of a $1.9 million decrease in state funding for the next budget year.

Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, said he's concerned that Iowa has too few workers to conduct adequate lake patrols or to help monitor the state's waterways for zebra mussels and other problems.

"There's got to be a point where you have to make a decision: Are you going to have enough boots on the ground out across Iowa to maintain those programs? And that's where the whole rub is going to come," Johnson said.

Of the positions lost since Branstad took office, 196 of the 251 were in the corrections and human services department.

Union officials have called for more corrections workers, citing safety concerns.

Corrections director John Baldwin declined to comment on whether the job cuts compromise safety for other workers and the public, but he said the size of the work force does raise concern.

"They are valid concerns when we have a lot more staff and a lot less staff," Baldwin said. "Corrections is inherently full of some risks, and we're that way no matter how many staff we have employed."

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, and David Roederer, director of the Iowa Department of Management, said they anticipate more cuts as budget negotiations continue.

"I think Iowans need to be engaged and they need to be very concerned because many of these are only the first steps," Danielson said.