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Stitt defends scrutiny of state hiring and pay, urges public reporting
Summary
Governor Kevin Stitt said citizens should scrutinize agency hiring and pay decisions and defended agency reviews that identify positions and consultant contracts for public accountability, saying state leaders should avoid using public dollars for political purposes.
Governor Kevin Stitt urged reporters and citizens to scrutinize state hiring and contracts and said the public is right to question high pay and consultant arrangements at state agencies.
‘‘Oklahomans are not dumb. Oklahomans see these people that are in these different political positions, that are running for their next office and they're looking for press statements and they're trying to use state dollars to make political statements,’’ Stitt said. He added that the governor does not directly hire all state agency heads — many report to boards or are separately elected — and encouraged transparency and accountability.
When asked about specific hires and whether taxpayers are funding political activity, the governor said he did not have a list of hires and noted there are about 30,000 state employees. He said agency leaders should ensure dollars ‘‘benefit the mission that the legislature intended’’ and applauded agency heads who review spending and staffing.
The governor tied the point to broader fiscal goals: he described his administration as favoring ‘‘lower, smaller government, lower taxes, flat budgets’’ and said the state should use dollars efficiently. No personnel decisions or investigative directives were announced during the press conference.
