Possible pay-to-play deals in New Mexico are garnering the headlines these days. But unprecedented growth in the number of exempt employees in state government is an issue that has simmered for years.

It continues to cause grumbling among classified workers who say the practice has adversely affected the performance of state agencies.

Known fondly — or not so fondly — as "gov-exes," these folks serve at the pleasure of the governor, with whom they often have close political ties. Frequently higher paid than their counterparts in the state's classified personnel system, their numbers have grown exponentially in all agencies. Today there are more than 460 gubernatorial appointees in exempt positions, more than double the number at the beginning of Gov. Bill Richardson's first year in office.

Perhaps nowhere is their presence felt more acutely than in the Department of Cultural Affairs. Today, there are 30 gov-ex employees in DCA — including two currently vacant museum director positions. Five years ago there were 12.

The list includes four museum directors in Santa Fe as well as directors of the archaeological studies and monuments divisions who became exempt in 2004 during a reorganization of the department. (A purpose of the reorganization was to put these employees on par with museum directors in other parts of the state.)

But the spotlight is on the exempt employees who do not hold positions authorized under state statute. Some are paid more than $80,000 a year and are subordinate to people who earn less than they do.

Governors have always used exempt jobs to reward friends and generous donors. (Among them, the gov-exes in DCA contributed more than $16,000 to the governor's unsuccessful presidential campaign.) What's different in this administration is the number of exempt positions at lower levels.

In the past, said one former state employee, "only Cabinet level and deputy secretary positions have been exempt. That makes sense. You want your loyal team to push your agenda. There's never (before) been a situation where you have them at all levels of the organization."

At what this person described as the "worker bee" level, "You don't want politicos there. You want people to do the work. It's a sorry situation."

Numerous people interviewed about the situation told The New Mexican that they didn't want to be identified because they feared for their jobs if they spoke openly. But all said gov-ex employees have had an impact on operations of the department.

First of all, division directors have to figure out how to pay them.

Some of these appointees come with a salary, but more often the division director is told to "find it in your budget," despite the fact there is little wiggle room in the budget.

"There was never any consultation," said one person in a position to know. "They were assigned and you had to deal with it."

Whether you want the person or not, one source said, "You have to find that salary and maybe not hire for a position that you really need. It puts you at a disadvantage."

Another close observer of the DCA said, "The fact that we have so many (exempt employees) impacts our budgets very deeply, and we have to make cuts in programs and services delivered to citizens because of the unexpected salary we have to cover. The numbers are huge and it's difficult to balance our budget. New people arrive unexpectedly; it's nothing we can prepare for."

All too often the department doesn't have a job that needs doing, but, a source explained, "We have to think of something that will suit them or enhance what we're trying to do. Sometimes it's difficult to find the right fit. Many times it's a struggle."

Stuart Ashman, the Secretary of Cultural Affairs, defended the practice, explaining, "If the governor wants to create a new initiative in August, he doesn't have to wait until the following July to hire a person to fill that position."

The department wouldn't accept exempt employees, "if we didn't have budget to do it," he said. "We have adjusted the budget to accommodate employees. They serve a function that we don't have already in place."

But current and former employees said that while some gov-exes found their niche, "That hasn't always been the case."

"They don't come without skills," one person acknowledged, "but those (skills) don't necessarily meet the needs of the division to which they are assigned."

A few appointees, people familiar with the DCA said, ostensibly lack the academic degrees and experience expected for someone holding the position.

For example, Lorraine Rotunno was a property manager, events planner and director of the Governor's Mansion before becoming projects administrator for the New Mexico Museum of Art two years ago. She earns a salary of more than $82,000. According to Ashman, she handles openings at the museums and "the comings and goings of exhibits."

Rotunno, whose education includes wine appreciation courses but no college degree, works under Marsha Bol, the museum director, who has a Ph.D. in art history from The University of New Mexico, and was an associate professor of museum studies at the University of Texas in San Antonio and an associate curator of anthropology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh before coming to Santa Fe in 2004. Bol's salary is $81,723.

India Hatch worked for the Taos Valley Resort Association reservations call center before 2006 when she was named director of the Film Museum, which still doesn't exist. She also has no college degree, according to her résumé, but makes $90,313.

Bergit Salazar, a longtime friend and contributor to the governor (along with her late husband), was a deputy director at DCA, an exempt position, before leaving New Mexico for a short time and returning to yet another gov-ex job at the soon-to-be-opened History Museum and Palace of the Governors. She's coordinator for the grand opening of the History Museum in Santa Fe later this year and is paid an annual salary of $65,000. Prior to working for the state she was a real estate agent and served on the state's arts commission and the Governor's Mansion Foundation.

Before he became deputy director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Troy Fernandez was special projects coordinator at the Department of Health, a therapist, mediator and consultant. He is now deputy secretary of DCA, where he handles many personnel issues and makes a salary of $81,286. Ashman said he asked for a second deputy secretary. "Tourism has two deputies," he said, "and we're much bigger."

Eliza Wells Smith, a photographer, former assistant to author Kurt Vonnegut and former executive assistant to Richardson, was hired as a "special projects" officer in 2003, but found her vocation selling advertising — a $66,000 position — for the magazine El Palacio.

Of the gov-exes, Ashman said, "We feel like they're all productive people. It would be great to have those positions on permanent basis for the department."

But others believe that incorporating exempt employees also undermines the sense of professionalism in the department. Because they are "making more than many Ph.D.s who have been there for years, it begins to be demoralizing," one source said. "I'm afraid it's a serious problem."

The discrepancies are a sore subject for classified employees who jump through many hoops to get hired. "For a lot of us, we had to get a résumé together, go through screening" said one, "while other people are plopped in from above without the right credentials, with more pay and better offices. They suddenly were there. It seems so wrong and causes such animosity in the workplace."

Even division directors have difficulty defending the jobs when they played no role in their creation.

Some familiar with the operations of the department say that DCA received a disproportionate share of the exempts because of a perception that arts and culture is "soft" and doesn't require a great deal of technical expertise or education. Anyone can hang a picture or create a brochure, right?

According to the same reasoning, it might be more difficult to "load" a department like Environment or Energy, where anyone without a science background would be suspect.

People who think this "have no idea of the standards each staff member applies to his or her work, the exceptional experience, the background, the high pressure of public demands and working with collections," a source noted.

Members of the state Legislature several times have raised questions about exempt appointments throughout state government, but there has been no follow-up. Closer attention, sources say, would "go a long way to preserving salaries and freeing up money," especially as the lawmakers look for $450 million in savings to balance the 2009 budget and further reductions for 2010.

At a legislative hearing Wednesday during which lawmakers discussed deep cuts (30-40 percent) in grants for outreach in the DCA budget, Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, grilled Ashman on the number and salaries of exempt employees in the department. He said he would give up 10 percent of his per diem if DCA cut the salaries of gov-ex employees by 10 percent. Acknowledging that wasn't really a fair deal, Egolf said the point is, "We've got a program (local arts grants) with statewide reach and bipartisan support, and a lot of folks rely on these moneys."

Egolf was then appointed to a subcommittee to see what DCA funds could be moved around to preserve the grant money.

As the Legislature debates spending, he said, "We are certainly going to look at the number of employees and salaries. Everything has to be on the table."

As part of a package of new spending cuts in the Governor's Office, Richardson on Thursday announced a temporary 2 percent pay cut for all exempt employees and said he also was suspending the practices of allowing them to receive compensatory time off and a buyout for unused annual leave each year.

In addition to their big salaries, exempt employees who manage to hang on to their government jobs for five years can qualify for a pension at age 65 equal to 15 percent of their final average salary, which is based on their highest-paid 36 consecutive months.

"It's not just what they're costing us now," said a person familiar with the issue. "That will go on for decades. It's outrageous."

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.