State board approves stimulus liason

The Nevada Board of Examiners on Tuesday recommended funding three new positions to manage the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money coming to the state.

Nevada is expected to receive more than $2.2 billion in federal stimulus funds in the coming two years. Director of Administration Andrew Clinger said it's vital to hire people to manage that process because of complex reporting requirements.

He said federal officials "have made very clear non-compliance puts these funds at risk."

Clinger also said it's necessary to get that staff soon since the first of the federally mandated reports on use of the money is due Oct. 10.

The board is comprised of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Its primary responsibility is to approve all state contracts.

Secretary of State Ross Miller, who said his office has taken on duties from the Legislature without asking for more staff, questioned whether an existing position could handle the coordination effort.

Gov. Jim Gibbons suggested maybe Miller would like to contribute one of his existing staff positions, saying, "If you want to give us a position, we'll take it."

Clinger said that with the budget cuts made by his office and the governor's office, there isn't an empty position he can convert into the stimulus coordinator.

Miller also asked why the position wasn't in the original proposed budget or added before the Legislature adjourned.

Clinger said the guidelines for the grant programs detailing all the reporting and other requirements didn't come out until June 22, "well after the Legislature had closed."

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto questioned why the coordinator's position is a cabinet-level job paid $120,000 a year.

Clinger responded that the person will be working as an equal with state agency heads and local government officials.

Chief of Staff Robin Reedy said after the meeting the job requires a master's of business administration or similar level of experience, and that requires a salary that will attract qualified candidates.

Masto also asked whether the positions were permanent. Clinger told her that when the ARRA programs go away, so will those positions.

In the end, they joined Gov. Jim Gibbons in voting to create a two-person ARRA coordinator's office with $257,709 from the Legislative Contingency Fund.

They also voted to fund a project manager to coordinate the ARRA health information technology program. That program will seek competitive grant money to computerize patient records in Medicaid and Medicare, all the way from doctor's offices to hospitals. The recommendation was to spend $251,220 to start the program by hiring a manager and contracting with a grant writer.

Chuck Duarte, administrator of Medicare and Medicaid, said time is of the essence since other states already are applying for the money.

The two recommendations go before the legislative Interim Finance Committee for final approval next Tuesday.