When former Department of Workforce Solutions Secretary Betty Sparrow Doris got a contract this fall to return to work after resigning from the agency, the news surprised some in state government.

But records show contracts for professional services are common in New Mexico.

According to the Department of Finance and Administration, the state since November 2008 approved 2,839 new professional services contracts and amendments to current contracts, worth $852.2 million. It's unclear how many of the contracts are with former state employees. A list summarizing the contracts and what they are for wasn't available last week.

That number is down from the previous year, when the department approved 3,160 new professional services contracts and amendments to contracts, worth $960.8 million.

But even the reduced number of contracts this year still seems high to some lawmakers who are looking for ways to cut the state's budget.

Sen. Tim Eichenberg, D-Albuquerque, in the recent special session, sponsored a measure that would have cut contract spending in half. He said he was looking to get a better sense of how many contracts are out there.

"What I was looking for was more of an accounting of the contract people," he said.

"My understanding is, that although we went into a hiring freeze, that what department heads were doing was taking salaries savings and then turning it over to contract money and then hiring people to do the work an employee would do. ... I felt that that was a way around the hiring freeze."

Eichenberg's bill was tabled in the Senate. But that doesn't mean there isn't interest in taking action on the topic.

Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe, said contract work is one area he thinks will get more scrutiny as the state grapples with its budget crisis.

"We're looking at personnel, at FTEs (full-time equivalents) and so forth. We need to look at the entire budget, including contracts." FTEs are a standard measure for tracking staffing. One FTE, for example, might be filled by one full-time person or two part-timers.

Varela, chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, said committee staff have been asked to look at what contracts the state can live without.

"We're asking them to take a look and see if we can do away with some of the contracts that aren't as effective," he said. "I'd rather cut them than furlough people."

Republicans also have called for the state to review and sign fewer contracts to save the state money and eliminate what they say is political patronage.

Other steps to reduce personnel costs are already being taken: Gov. Bill Richardson has ordered most state employees to accept five days without pay, and he is expected to eliminate at least 84 exempt positions, some of which are vacant.

Sparrow Doris' contract, good through September 2010 and worth $49,200, calls for her to help the New Mexico Office of Recovery and Reinvestment on federal stimulus projects related to the Department of Workforce Solutions, "including partnering with DWS to provide services to enhance statewide work force development efforts," a spokeswoman said.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.

BY THE NUMBERS

2,839
new and amended contracts approved by state since November 2008, down from previous year

$852.2 million
Cost of new and amended contracts over past year

3,160
new and amended contracts approved from 2007-2008