"I do think there are some low-hanging fruit spots. And I would say that positions that have been open for five years, yeah, we can start there," State Auditor Dave Boliek said.
The report outlines more than 8,000 long-term vacancies, creating more than $1 billion of "lapsed" salaries.
Some are because of low pay, Boliek conceded, but he said others could be reassigned.
"These positions are not currently filled by state civil servants. They're vacant positions. There are places where we need to reinvest, where we can get a return on investment, nursing, other health care professionals across the state of North Carolina, correction officials," he said.
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Some Democratic lawmakers contend that doesn't show the full picture. State Rep. Zack Hawkins said low pay for correctional officers and teachers also needs to be addressed.
"People used to come to state government and work for 20 years and 30 years for the state because they had the best benefits and good pay that you could raise a family on," Hawkins said.
Hawkins said the state has always had about a 20% vacancy, and also says AI and new technology could also be tools to allow them to focus on making sure state workers can get the pay they need.
"What new technologies are out there to better support the workers so that when those dollars again, which are mostly salary, could go back to people," he said.
Boliek's report is only recommendations; lawmakers still have to make those decisions. Depending on how things shake out, it could be March or April by the time a decision is reached on a budget.
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