House OKs funding for treasurer

Bill raises spending authority to $5.37 million in fiscal 2017

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved an appropriation for the treasurer's office that would increase the maximum-authorized salary from $97,400 to $108,581 for senior investment manager Ed Garner and increase its spending authority by more than $300,000 to allow the purchase of a software program for the office's investment department.



RELATED ARTICLES

http://www.arkansas…">House, Senate pass bills to budget statehttp://www.arkansas…">State Capitol news in brief http://www.arkansas…">Legislators cut family's award

The 85-8 vote sends House Bill 1097 to the Senate.

HB1097 would increase the spending authority in Treasurer Dennis Milligan's office from $5.035 million in the current fiscal year to $5.37 million in fiscal 2017, which starts July 1.

Milligan requested a $350,000 increase in his office's $900,000 data processing system services budget "in response to the need for technology software to continue to modernize the investment management within the office as well as to maintain the ability to produce increased rates of return for the taxpayers of Arkansas," Milligan wrote in a letter to the Joint Budget Committee. "Specifically, these funds would be used for the Bloomberg AIM [Asset in Investment Management] program."

Under HB1097, the office's existing 33 positions and regular salary total of $2.239 million would remain the same in fiscal 2017. The bill reduces 10 extra-help positions to five and cuts extra-help spending authority by $15,000, to $35,000.

In addition to raising the maximum possible salary for Garner's post, the bill cuts the maximum-authorized salary of Chief of Staff Jim Harris from $113,348 to $108,581.

Garner, a former Republican state representative from Maumelle, is paid $96,999 now, while Harris is paid $105,049.

"A decision has not been made at this time on what Mr. Garner's salary will be for fiscal year 2017," Milligan spokesman Grant Wallace said Wednesday.

HB1107 also would increase the office's spending authority for professional fees and services from $32,125 to $94,375, but cut the spending authority for capital outlay from $75,000 to $25,000 and for operating expenses from $1.012 million to $1 million.

"These only reflect adjustments to continue representation of the office in an ongoing lawsuit as well as to continue representation by an investment attorney," Milligan wrote in his letter to the Joint Budget Committee about the professional-fee increase.

The office has hired the Rose Law Firm as an investment attorney, but the firm hasn't billed the office yet, Wallace said Wednesday.

Since May 2015, Milligan and Harris have been defendants in a defamation lawsuit filed by former outreach manager David Singer of White Hall.

Milligan retained Byron Freeland of the Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard law firm to represent him and Harris after the attorney general's office said it couldn't represent the pair because of a conflict of interest.

So far, Wallace said the treasurer's office has paid $107,518.65 to the law firm and owes another $34,448.56.

Although HB1097 lists no position for an attorney, Wallace said, "It is still our intent to hire an in-house counsel as all the other constitutional officers have."

The in-house legal counsel will be hired under a division director post with a maximum-authorized salary of $85,000, Wallace said. He said Milligan hasn't decided who to hire for the job yet.

A Section on 05/05/2016

Upcoming Events