WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – More than $20 million in public funds across five southeastern North Carolina counties sits in limbo due to vacant state positions, according to new data from a state dashboard tracking job openings.
The new long-term state vacancies dashboard, created by the State Auditor’s Office, tracks state jobs that have been open for at least six months. It adds up lapsed salaries, which are public dollars budgeted for salaries, but are instead spent in other areas, or in some cases, not at all. The data is broken down by agency, county, position and salary.
In southeastern North Carolina, most of those vacancies are within the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the Department of Adult Correction.
NCDOT has more than 80 job openings in southeastern North Carolina, with nearly half of those positions located in New Hanover County, Division Engineer Trevor Carroll said. Those vacancies in New Hanover County represent $2.5 million in public dollars the department has received but is not spending on salaries.
“Our performance, and the amount of work we can accomplish, is certainly affected by our lower staffing numbers,” Carroll said. “It directly affects the number of potholes we can fill, the number of pipes we can replace. And those particular activities are seen when we travel throughout our counties.”
Carroll said the department is working to address the staffing shortage, improving recruiting by visiting local colleges, high schools and job fairs. He said the department’s pay is competitive, but New Hanover and Brunswick counties are also more competitive to recruit in.
“The more staff we have, the more qualified staff we have, everything is better,” Carroll said.
When state jobs remain vacant, agencies can still use the allocated funds, but NCDOT said the money cannot go toward projects and is limited to smaller, non-recurrent expenses like equipment purchases. At the end of the fiscal year, agencies can no longer spend the money.
Lapsed salaries have totaled at least $5 million in New Hanover, Pender and Columbus counties. Across North Carolina, the total exceeds $1 billion, with more than 8,000 long-term openings.
The Department of Adult Correction had the most openings in the region, with lapsed salaries totaling over $10 million. In Pender County alone, 87 long-term vacancies with the department have generated $7.75 million in lapsed salary, according to the data.
A Department of Adult Correction spokesperson said the department was unavailable for an on-camera interview to discuss how it is addressing the vacancies, but sent the following statement:
“The main cause for high vacancy rates among state correctional officer ranks is the low pay. The starting salary of $37,621 is second lowest in the nation among state corrections agencies and equals about $18 an hour. That pay rate is exceeded by many jobs in county jails, and even in the retail and restaurant sectors. An increase in salaries would enable NCDAC to recruit and retain more correctional officers, reduce vacancy rates, and better protect public safety.”
A link to the dashboard can be found here.
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