Jindal hires seven staffers before freeze

• By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Nov 26, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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In the weeks ahead of ordering a state government hiring freeze, Gov. Bobby Jindal added seven new staffers to his office payroll.

The new hires replaced people who left or moved to other positions in the Governor’s Office. However, two of the seven are paid at least $10,000 more a year than their predecessors.

Jindal also changed the job duties and increased the salaries of three people already on his staff. Two of the staffers moved into vacant positions. One top aide assumed an entirely new position for the Jindal administration.

All of the juggling was done in the two months leading up to Gov. Bobby Jindal halting most new hires to state government because of budget concerns.

Jindal said Tuesday that he did not rush to make changes before signing the hiring freeze for the rest of state government.

The timing is coincidental, Jindal said.

The governor said he saved money by restructuring his staff and closing offices in other cities.

Melissa Sellers, Jindal’s communications director, said the governor has cut his office’s budget by $287,575 since January, partly by closing offices in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans.

“Recent promotions and the restructuring of roles in the Governor’s Office has revamped job descriptions to often include additional duties and produced a net savings of $50,592,” she said.

She said the governor plans to eliminate three positions entirely — two administrative assistants and a special counsel — to save $204,800.

State payroll records show that before the changes were made, Jindal employed four more aides on his personal staff than former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. He had 123 workers to Blanco’s 119, the records show.

In the last two months, the biggest bump in pay was for former Senate staffer Kim Dodd Manning, who is making nearly $20,000 more than former policy adviser Kristy Nichols did. Nichols left the Governor’s Office to become interim secretary of the state Department of Social Services.

Manning was hired as a senior analyst to Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Waguespack.