Governor Walker’s plan to cut positions from the Department of Natural Resources science and education sections could lead to more cuts than intended.
Walker’s proposed budget calls for cutting a total of 30 permanent positions in the science and education sections in the DNR as part of a plan to cut a total of 80 employees in the agency.
A memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau says that under current state law if the state wants to lay off permanent employees who share the same job title, all limited term, probationary, and project employees with the same classification would need to be laid off first. There are currently 49 of those jobs in the DNR’s research section, and another 41 in the DNR’s educational section.
The Joint Finance Committee is set to discuss that measure at their budget hearing today.
WSAU