As Hobbs expands her office's outreach, her staff grows nearly 40%, costing taxpayers $4M

Standing before a room filled with Indigenous leaders in January, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs bragged about growing "by 500%" the number of staffers in her office who interface with tribes.

The four new employees in the Office of Tribal Relations, which now counts five staffers, aren't the only new hires in the Hobbs administration.

The Governor's Office staff has grown by nearly 40% since Hobbs took over in January 2023, adding about 40 employees.

The average salary for staffers is $10,000 more under the Hobbs administration. With the additional hiring, employee-related costs paid by taxpayers have increased 52%, or $4 million, since former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey left office, according to an analysis of staff lists by The Arizona Republic.

It is any governor's prerogative to hire and shape their staff in line with their priorities. The hiring since Hobbs inherited the helm of state government contrasts with Ducey, who spent his eight years in office pledging to limit the size of state government.

Hobbs "believes in an efficient and effective government that works on behalf of Arizonans," Hobbs' spokesperson, Christian Slater, said. "She promised to secure our water future, grow the economy and create jobs and build a sustainable future. That's why the governor is making important investments in offices like tribal affairs and sustainability."

Hobbs' office has grown amid a time of tight state finances, with Arizona facing a $1.7 billion deficit. While the governor volunteered her office to take a 1% cut earlier this year, Republicans in the state Legislature say her hiring will be reviewed — and a larger cut is likely.

Slater defended against any comparison that Hobbs has grown the size of government. He said staffing up for a new administration would mean more hiring compared with an administration that was winding down.

He claimed the office was the "same size" and provided spending numbers that show Hobbs' office spent $900,000 less in calendar year 2023 than Ducey's final year in office in 2022.

Those figures show decreases in spending from dedicated funds that can only be spent on other items, such as the response to COVID-19 or a livestock fair. The math from the Governor's Office confirms The Republic's analysis that personnel-related costs, which are paid by taxpayers, have grown by about $4 million.

"This is a story of differing priorities, not the size or scope of government," Slater said.

Where the office has grown

The Governor's Office had 146 employees as of mid-November, according to public records obtained by The Republic. When Ducey left office, the staff numbered 107, and state workforce records show that was typical for Ducey's two terms. Ducey's office peaked at 117 employees in 2020, according to the workforce records.

The average salary in the Hobbs administration is $99,000. The average salary under Ducey was just shy of $89,000.

Among other hires, Hobbs has doubled the number of staffers who work directly with constituents across Arizona and brought on two interns, too. She has expanded the number of attorneys in-house that give her advice, from one under Ducey to four now, according to the records.

She created the six-person Office of Resiliency, which addresses water, transportation, energy and land policies. The office is now developing a statewide extreme-heat plan and identifying renewable energy investments, among other tasks, according to the Governor's Office.

“The idea is to allow people to work across our natural resources departments and attack some of the challenges that Arizona is facing, and also identify opportunities for more growth," Slater said.

The growth meant more physical space was needed, leading to some rearranging in the nine-story executive tower at the Capitol that houses most elected officials' offices.

The Governor's Office has grown and the Department of Homeland Security moved to a nearby building, according to the Arizona Department of Administration, which manages state buildings. Office space changes are common when the governor changes, according to the Department of Administration.

That shifting led to a conversation about potentially moving Mine Inspector Paul Marsh's office from the fourth floor. Marsh, a Republican who was elected to a four-year term in 2022 like Hobbs, objected during what he described a simple discussion that at the time "might have felt a little bigger. We’re just going to leave it at that."

"I’m an elected official, I should be in the tower," he said. "As an elected official, I think that’s important."

The Mine Inspector's Office ultimately stayed put and got a training room on the fourth floor, shrinking the space used by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. Marsh didn't take issue with Hobbs' hiring.

“It’s her office to do as she sees fit," he said, adding: "I wish I could hire more people.”

Office (growth) politics

Lean financial times will make Hobbs' hiring a political issue as she begins negotiating with lawmakers over a state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. With a 10-figure deficit in the forecast, Republican lawmakers say they will scrutinize Hobbs' spending.

John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican who leads the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the increase in staff and spending was "an eyebrow-raiser." The Appropriations Committee takes first votes to approve a budget, which must win majority support in both chambers of the Legislature and Hobbs' signature to become law.

Kavanagh questioned how the governor was paying for the new staff, given that the office's funding through the state budget has remained steady.

The answer to that question isn't entirely clear. Slater, Hobbs' spokesman, did not respond to questions about how the governor planned to sustain additional salary costs in future years, how she would cut 1%, or why Homeland Security was evicted from the office building.

The Governor's Office is one of a few state programs that get to keep leftover money year to year, which means there was at least some excess to spend. Records show when Ducey left office, about $2.9 million was carried over for the Hobbs administration to use.

Slater said year-over-year spending was down, but that factors in spending from accounts under the governor's purview that pay for specific items. For example, Ducey spent $2.5 million in COVID-19 relief dollars in 2022 that, under state law, can only be spent during a state of emergency. That money drove up Ducey's final year expenses. Slater also noted the governor's budget proposal includes about $1 billion in cuts.

Those accommodations are unlikely to pass muster with the Republican-majority Legislature.

A 1% cut "would be completely anemic" compared with the size of her staff increase, said House Speaker Ben Toma, a Glendale Republican.

"I guess it's a nice talking point, but at the end of the day, what matters is actual dollars," he said. "I don't think there's any chance that the Governor's Office is going to get a budget increase of any kind."

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Republic reporter Kunle Falayi contributed to this article.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Katie Hobbs is hiring: Arizona governor's staff grows nearly 40%