The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-02-15
CUTTING STATE EXPENSES

Reduced to the lowest possible
number of employees required to
carry on actual maintenance work
and construction now under way the
state highway department began OPP
erations Thursday morning, with a
| list of only forty-nine employees on
the payroll. This reorganization
was carried out under instructions
from Governor C. G. Moore, who on
January 3 asked for the resignation
of all employees in the highway de-
partment in order that the highway
expense might be cut to only that
work absolutely necessary to main
tain roads already built and carry
out contracts now under way.
In addition to the forty employees
on the highway work, nine men will
be retained in the motor transport
section, where the materials and
supplies received from the U. s. gov
eminent are taken care of. This
force together with two in the gen
eral office makes total of sixty en-
ployees. On December 81 there
were 220 employees. The reduction
cutting out 160 employees.
This reorganization slashes ap-
proximately $4,000 from the
monthly payroll. On January 1 the
total payroll, including motor trans
port section was $29,383.97. The
estimated payroll for the month of
February will not exceed $4,000.
In making the reorganization,
Governor Moore mas abolished the
office of director of highways at
salary of $4,000 per year and this
work will be carried on in the future
under the direction Of the commits
sioner of public works. Col. D. P.
Olson, who has filled this position for
the past four years, retired from the
office Wednesday.
Further changes in the depart
ment include reduction of the wages
of men employed in maintenance to
a scale which will not exceed the
scale paid by contractors for the
same class of labor, which is approx
mately from 40 to so cents per hour
for labor, 40 to As cents for teams
and from SO to 81 " cents for fore
men.
The number of districts in the
state has been cut from seven to
four in order to save all possible ex-
Dense. This reduction to four dis
tricts will really be in effect a reduc
ion to three districts because No.
district, which is the home district,
will be administered from the Boise
office and the district engineers will
handle the maintenance for this
district.
The highway employees on the
payroll February 1 are as follows:
District No. 1, Pocatello, four; dis
riot No. 2, Idaho Falls, two; district
No. 8, Shoshone, two; district No. 4,
Boise, five; district No. 5, Challis,
wo; district No. 6, Lewiston,
thirteen; district No. z, Occur
L'Alene, seven; Boise office, account
ng and clerks or stenographers, one;
craftsmen and computers, three; {
ridge department, two; chief clerk, I
me; blue printer, one; total, forty
line.
One district engineer in each of G
istricts No. 2, 5, and will only be
n the payroll for the next ten or
fteen days. They are being held t
or that period in order to properly t
fleet the transfer of the office {
ecords and to avoid mixing them I
p. In district No. two residency c
len will possibly be released by the
nd of the month, at which time the r
ntire staff would be reduced to t
orty-four or forty-five employees, r
Mess extraordinary maintenance or C
due to weather condi- i
ons, should arise, in which event o
lie necessary help to properly care
Or the situation would have to be
for such time only as was S
boslutely necessary.
The disestablishment of the dis d
'ict offices at Challis, Idaho Falls e
I'D Occur d'Alene will be completed
Of later than February Is. Twenty c.
lree of the forty-nine employees re-
lined are employed on actual con- a
ruction work, there being at this T