Branstad More than Doubled the Size of Iowa Government
December 11, 2009
Terry Branstad is trying hard to run away from his record as a budget-expanding, tax-increasing Governor. He says he reduced the number of departments in state government through reorganization, but one look at the facts brings a completely different picture of Branstad into focus. The number of state employees in Iowa more than doubled between 1985 and 2001. See this release from the Iowa Democratic Party about Branstad’s bogus efficiency claims.Here are the facts:
- Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) state executive branch employees in 1985: 8,897. [“Restructuring and Downsizing of Iowa State Government,” Peat, Marwick (1985)]
- Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) state executive branch employees in 2001: 19,964 [Iowa Department of Administrative Services “Just the Facts” Report (2002)]
- Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) state executive branch employees in 2008: 20,552 (excluding Fair Authority, Community-Based Corrections, and the Regents employees). [Iowa Department of Administrative Services “Just the Facts” Report (2008)]
- Percentage increase in number of full-time equivalent (FTE) state executive branch employees between 1985 and 2001 = approximately 222.5 %
- Percentage increase in number of full-time equivalent (FTE) state executive branch employees between 2001 and 2008 = approximately 0.9 %
- Number of employees eliminated as a result of Branstad’s 1985 government reorganization: Approx 436 full-time equivalent (FTE) general state funded positions in the executive branch. [“Restructuring and Downsizing of Iowa State Government,” Peat, Marwick (1985)]
- Percentage of state workforce eliminated as a result of Branstad 1985 reorganization: 4.9% [“Restructuring and Downsizing of Iowa State Government,” Peat, Marwick (1985)]