Department of Mines asks for $100,000 IT follow-on and raises to boost retention

Director Rodzny of the Department of Mines told the committee the agency is seeking two targeted additions to next year’s budget: a one-time $100,000 continuation of an IT mapping and permit-access project and salary increases to close a gap between current pay and the 90% market band.

"We have asked for 2 things," Rodzny said, describing the IT item as a phase-two effort to integrate inspector reporting so staff can access and download inspection and permit records from the agency website. The agency received $100,000 for the mapping project this year and is asking for a second $100,000 to complete a field-searchable inspection module.

Rodzny also said staff paybands lag market rates and that some long-tenured employees are $5,000–$25,000 below the 90% market level. "This salary influx of money would allow them to at least be at the 90% level," she said, framing the request as both a retention and recruitment measure.

On technical hiring needs, Rodzny said the agency has been trying to fill a hydrologist position; an offer was accepted and then rescinded, and the agency may need to increase the salary offered to be competitive. She said the Department of Mines oversees several hundred active mining operations across most counties and that digitizing records completed earlier this fiscal cycle supports the mapping work now under way.

Committee members pressed for details on how raises would be awarded. Senator Yack asked whether raises would be tied to individual performance reviews; Rodzny said increases would be based on "each individual position" and targeted toward those furthest below market. On whether other agencies could supply hydrology expertise, she said staff at the Department of Environmental Quality lacked capacity to support the workload the Mines Department now faces.

Rodzny also briefed members on the fallout from litigation relating to federal reclamation funds. She said an appeal tied to a McGirt-related funding dispute was dismissed at the Attorney General’s office and that, when federal funds were cut, the agency had no remedy: "When the feds cut the money off, that was pretty much it," she said.

The presentation closed with Rodzny noting recent accomplishments funded by prior appropriations — including completed reclamation projects and a finished records-digitization effort — and an offer to follow up with additional details at the committee’s request.

The committee did not take a vote on the requests during this session; follow-up questions on implementation, specific salary schedules and the hydrologist recruitment timeline were left for staff to answer later.