This is a copy of a letter written to us, the DHHS Employee. Sent by Carmen Hooker Odem, Secretary under Governor Michael F. Easley. (June 25, 2002) Dear DHHS Employee: "The news about this year's budget continues to worsen. We've recently completed an analysis of the Senate budget, and things are worse than we had originally thought. We suspect that this information will get some attention in the media, si I wanted to let you know about it before you heard about it elsewhere. The Senate budget affects our personnel in several ways: * It eliminates $7.9 million in specific positions. * It eliminates #5 million in non-specific positions to be determined by the department. * It funds salaries at only 98% of the budget requirements, effectively reducing positions by another $7.18 million. If this budget becomes reality, then DHHS will be dramatically affected. Given the fact that very few of our vacant positions are fully state-supported and most of them are critical care positions in our institutions, we could be faced with a very large reduction in force. Obviously, we are very concerned about the personnel provisions in the Senate budget, and we will continue to work with the legislature to show them that these cuts would be devestating. Quite frankly, I don't know how we can continue to provide our core services if our human resources are decimated. I assure you that we do recognize the value of the services you provide to some of North Carolina's most fragile citizens, and I will work passionately to ensure that we can continue to provide those services." Sincerely Carmen Hooker Odem.
