Martinez seeks centralized human resources department

SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration is planning to eliminate many of the human resources departments at agencies across New Mexico’s government, shifting responsibility for personnel matters to a single state office.

It would be the single biggest shakeup of state bureaucracy since the beginning of a budget crisis last year that has led to cutbacks and drained some $700 million in cash reserves.

A spokesman for the State Personnel Office said the move towards a “consolidated HR system” is still in the planning phase and declined to say how much money the state expects to save or how many jobs could be eliminated.

The State Personnel Office already handles human resources for smaller state agencies. But larger departments have their own human resources staffs. For example, the Department of Health has 52 employees in its human resources bureau and a total staff of about 3,000.

“The key goal is to increase access to human resource services, while at the same time saving taxpayer dollars. A streamlined and centralized model will help us do just that,” Joseph Cueto, a spokesman for the personnel office, said in an email.

Several legislators and labor union officials said they had heard about the reorganization but had not seen any formal plan, which Republican Gov. Martinez could likely implement without the approval of the Legislature, controlled by Democrats.

Lawmakers generally viewed the idea positively, partly because of concerns about yet another state budget deficit and also because of frustrations with the time it takes the state to fill jobs.

Martinez campaigned on streamlining government and, though she and other state politicians offered several ideas during the recession to shrink the state’s bureaucracy, most of their proposals fizzled.

State leaders have not substantially overhauled the structure of New Mexico’s government since 1978.

But faced with a budget crisis in 2009, then-Gov. Bill Richardson chose a committee to consider efficiency measures with a goal of cutting costs by at least $50 million.

The committee proposed merging several state agencies. Legislators, though, did not act on the proposals. They instead formed yet another task force.

Then Martinez won election as governor in 2010 and she appointed a task force of her own.

After that, legislators considered bills to merge the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management with the Department of Public Safety, and to merge the Department of Cultural Affairs with the Tourism Department. Lawmakers also considered merging the Department of Information Technology, created by Richardson in 2007, with the General Services Department.

But even with bipartisan support, the proposals died in the Legislature.

Faced with another budget crisis during the last year, lawmakers have questioned just how much further the state can cut its budget. But consolidating human resources departments could prove politically palatable on the basis of efficiency and lower costs.

Government agencies take an average of 65 days to staff a position from the date it is posted, according to a recent analysis by the Legislative Finance Committee.

Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, a member of the committee, says the current system for hiring state employees is “grossly inefficient.”

Much of the hiring process is currently left to individual agencies. Cisneros says moving it entirely under the State Personnel Office could speed up the time it takes to fill jobs.

The long process puts the state at a particular disadvantage for hiring professionals with in-demand skills, he said.

“We lose the better-qualified individuals because of the time line,” Cisneros said. “This should have been done a long time ago.”

Officials at unions representing state employees said they had not seen any specific plan to consolidate human resources departments and their collective bargaining agreements do not typically include employees in those divisions.

Union officials acknowledged the move could have benefits but they also see potential pitfalls, saying some state agencies already have too few human resources staff members.

Donald Alire, who represents employees at several state agencies as president of Communication Workers of America, Local 7076, says he is worried staff will lose a personal connection with their human resources department. Without that connection, personnel issues could take longer to resolve, he said.

And Alire said consolidating human resources issues under one agency could give the administration greater sway over personnel issues.

“If it’s under one shop, it’s going to be under one direction,” he said. “It could be good, it could be bad. If we get a governor who respects unions, we could benefit.”