Here are the original questions I sent to the Forest Service collected from folks on TSW:
During the Town Hall, the Chief said “BLM has a COLA” that allows BLMers to get more money than FS folks in the same building. He implied that that was due to energy funding to the BLM in some way.
1. My understanding is that both locality pay and COLAs are government-wide and set by OPM. The Chief implied that he couldn’t bring influence to bear on OPM, nor (he implied) could the Secretary. What exactly is he asking OPM to do or not do?
2. My understanding is that rents on Forest Service buildings are set by GSA. Is that correct? How are rental rates determined, and do local units have any flexibility on them?
3. How much funding has gone to the Keystone and Navigators agreements? It seems like that could alleviate some of the problems if they haven’t spent it all. Is it possible for the currently unspent funds in these coop agreements to be returned?
4. Does the Forest Service have an explanation for why the shortfall occurred? Were the results of the audit a surprise?
a. The structural issues (e.g. pay increases, COLAs) are common to all land management agencies; does the Forest Service have an explanation for why they have a uniquely large deficit?
5. Has there been direction to use KV and BD funds to offset payroll shortfalls?
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The Press Office was helpful in telling me that it wasn’t a Town Hall but rather this session, the Housing Update Information Session which occurred July 15 and was posted August 19. There may be answers related to our questions on the Sharepoint site, but that isn’t available to non-employees as far as I know.
I asked to see those Q&A’s and the Press Office said:
“We don’t have any additional information to provide beyond Chief Moore’s recent budget remarks (Fiscal year 2025 budget updates | US Forest Service (usda.gov)). We won’t speculate beyond what’s already provided in the remarks. Questions related to the budget should be directed to the Department of Agriculture.”
Meanwhile the Hotshot Wakeup posted this on his Substack. I will keep everyone posted as I hear more, if you have more info please email me. Thank you!
In the Rocky Mountain Region, they announced that all seasonal positions or 1039 appointments will be cut, and no extensions will be offered starting October 1st. On top of that, I’ve heard there are conversations about perm staff cutting hours if a 2025 budget is not passed by October as well.
This comes after years of pressing the workforce to stay on longer to complete prescribed burning that was funded in the billions of dollars by the Infrastructure Bill. It seems that will take a back seat now, as it was announced October 1st will be the cutoff, no matter the funding source for the employee’s wages.
Here is the memo that went out to the Rocky Mountain Employees:
Good Afternoon All,
As an agency it is our responsibility and number one priority to pay our employees. In working through the budget challenges, we are currently facing; a decision has been made that no 1039 appointments will be extended beyond the end of the fiscal year regardless of funding source. This applies to all 1039 appointments in the Rocky Mountain Region with no exceptions.
May as well shut the damned doors….. And, this is not an FY 2024 issue, it’s FY 2025, since the target date is October 01! Must be a hell of a mess upcoming in 2025, right?
As an Agency draws itself inward, that usually indicates complete turmoil, IMHO; having discussions on permanent salary adjustments is just nuts…..
Thanks Sharon for rounding this up!
So, how long will it take for management to beg for some “disposable employees” to come back and do their essential work?
How many firefighters will see this situation as the ‘last straw’, before they look elsewhere for different employers, or even, different careers?
The extra funding seems more like ‘Welfare for Feds Near Retirement’. Oh, that “High-3”!!!
I am sure that for those of us on the outside looking in, there is much more to the story than we know right now. However, on its face, this seems to be mismanagement at a level that the FS has never experienced before. How does an Agency like the FS get 3/4 of a billion dollars in the hole? What exactly happened with all of the BIL and the IRA funding? What did the “Partners” accomplish with all of the money they received through the Keystone Agreements? Where is the accountability?
Sharon asked some good questions of the WO Communications Office and their response is basically nothing? Why isn’t there a congressional hearing on all of this? Is the Forest Service jeopardizing its existence by appearing to be so incompetent? Imagine the impact this is having on employees. What is their trust level in their senior leadership? It would appear that it is time for a change in some top jobs. Sorry Chief Moore, you seem like a nice enough guy but the buck really stops with you and Homer Wilkes.
Dave, my Congressional contacts tell me that they are likely to care (and get better answers) at some point after the election. So for those of us who are interested right now, I guess we will have to take our FOIA results and be patient.
Well, said Dave – I have been thinking the same things as you have stated in your 2nd paragraph. The real test for me for senior leadership will be how they implement a solution for FY25 – the options being discussed (and the ones currently being implemented) are very one-dimensional and don’t offer a long-term (or even medium-term) vision of where we are headed in terms of workload. It has resulted in gridlock for key positions that have been vacant, even for detailers.
Interesting contrast between R-6 and R2 on hiring situation!
Such as? Is Region 6 wide open and hiring? Tell us a bit more, please….
Sept story by Steve Wilent
Am I the only one who can put both these responses together, and still can’t estimate the cost of cotton? In other words, your response and Steve’s post have nothing to do with each other….
How is Region 6 escaping the seasonal employee shutoff?
As a side note: a discussion with a FS employee the other day had not seen the “all employees” letter mentioned in the Chiefs letter, nor had seen the Chiefs letter.
Jim, I haven’t seen the letter, but we did see this blog post. https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/leadership/fy25-budget-updates. Would someone send me a copy of the letter if there is one?
What is more concerning than the circling vultures, about to pee on any meaningful Rx Fall burns is the realization employees in the field have not heard anything but rumors of impending doom! Middle leaders (that’s what I would call them anyway) not being in the loop of “all employees” receiving nothing official is a “watch out” situation…..
I understand the need to terminate seasonals and limit permanent seasonals to minimum pay periods, but gosh dang communicate with the folk!!
Region 6 has converted most of their 1039 employees to permanent seasonals/PFTs. R6 has sent out direction that PFTs will not be allowed to work more than their minimum tour, regardless of funding source.