Agency director overseeing Nebraska state budget and state employees to resign Sept. 27

The Nebraska State Capitol (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s chief human resources officer and head of the agency that oversees the state budget, state employees and risk management will resign at the end of the month.

Gov. Jim Pillen announced Director Jason Jackson’s resignation Wednesday from the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, effective Sept. 27. Jackson has been department director since 2018 and has served as the state’s chief HR officer since 2016. Pillen said Jackson is returning to the private sector to pursue a new opportunity.

“Serving the State of Nebraska has been the honor of my career,” Jackson said in a statement.

Jackson pointed to three reasons he is “particularly proud” to have worked with Pillen: reforming the state’s procurement laws, restructuring the Nebraska State Historical Society to be a “code agency” under the governor and receiving recognition for excellence in state financial reporting.

One agency focus is to streamline processes, improve services and save taxpayer dollars.

State procurement laws

Reforming the set of state laws related to state bids and contracts moved ahead in February when Legislative Bill 461 , from Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista, passed 45-0 and was signed into law.

The multi-year reform process launched with a select committee in 2021 through a resolution from State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha. It was in response to a failed child welfare contract with Saint Francis Ministries in the state’s eastern service area.

Jackson’s department worked closely with Arch, who chaired the select committee and passed a separate bill in 2022 to more intently review the state’s procurement laws.

Jackson had described LB 461 as “once-in-a-generation comprehensive procurement reform.”

State budget cuts

The administrative agency has also worked closely with Pillen and the out-of-state consultant Epiphany Associations on reducing the state’s budget for “efficiencies.” Those cuts, up to $280 million , were identified outside the typical process with the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

Cavanaugh and her office have filed multiple records requests to understand the breadth of the reductions . At least two state agencies, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Department of Veteran Affairs, were short of funds to meet payroll obligations, according to those records.

The Department of Revenue’s Lottery and Charitable Gaming Division also required more funds to close out the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Pillen’s goal, through Epiphany, was to cut at least 3% of state general funds in the first year and 6% in the second. It’s part of his overall continued goal to find state savings that could be used to reduce local property taxes.

“I greatly appreciate Governor Pillen’s leadership and wish his administration continued success as they work to improve services and provide tax relief to Nebraskans,” Jackson said in his Wednesday statement.

Pillen commended Jackson for leading his agency in improving responsiveness with other agencies and public entities while also continuing to serve in the Nebraska National Guard.

“Jason exemplifies what it means to be a dedicated public servant,” Pillen said in a statement. “Jason has much to be proud of when he reflects on his many accomplishments with the state.”

State Auditor: Jackson ‘will be missed’

At Jackson’s February 2023 confirmation hearing , when Pillen reappointed him to the role, Jackson explained how his agency had received a negative audit from State Auditor Charlie Janssen in 2020 that found $21 billion in errors for fiscal year 2019-20 that needed to be corrected across various state agencies.

Jackson noted that the timeframe  overlapped with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and an influx of federal aid.

In response, the agency consulted with the global Deloitte professional services network and added eight accounting professionals to its staff with more than 50 years of public finance experience. The agency also “created a war-room type of environment,” Jackson testified, to get state employees working together, leading  to fewer errors.

“We’re far from declaring victory,” Jackson said at the time. “We’re not spiking the football.”

At the end of 2023, State Auditor Mike Foley and his office reported $961 million in errors for the prior fiscal year across various state agencies.

Foley said Wednesday that in his eight years of working with Jackson, he always found Jackson to be a “man of impressive competence and integrity.” Foley served six of those years as the state’s lieutenant governor before being elected back to the auditor’s office in 2022.

“When Jason tells you something, you can take it to the bank,” Foley said in a statement. “His positive influence on state government operations has been immense. He will be missed.”

A national search will commence immediately to find Jackson’s successor, according to Pillen’s office. Jackson was one of a handful of cabinet appointees who were reappointed when Pillen assumed office in 2023.

Other cabinet vacancies to fill

In addition to Jackson, Pillen is on the search for three other agency directors, two of whom were reappointments from former Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration:

• Nebraska Department of Natural Resources: Director Tom Riley resigned in August after almost four years of service. Jesse Bradley , who has been with the department since 2006, is the interim director.
• Department of Environment and Energy: Director Jim Macy resigned in April after nine years on the job. Thad Fineran , who had served as Adj. Gen. Craig Strong’s chief of staff for the Nebraska National Guard, has served as interim director since April 1. Fineran was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in Nebraska National Guard in mid-August, which requires him to withdraw from state service. His last day is Sept. 30.
• Nebraska State Historical Society, the state’s newest “code agency”: Beginning July 19, History Nebraska moved from an independent state agency with an internally selected director to one appointed by the governor . Cindy Drake , who served as a librarian for the agency for more than 40 years, is the interim director.

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