Friday, June 02, 2017

Greitens appoints acting Director of Economic Development

(From Gov. Eric Greitens)

Today, Governor Eric Greitens announced that Rob Dixon, current President of the Missouri Community College Association, will be appointed as Missouri’s new Acting Director of Economic Development.

Throughout his career, Rob Dixon has transformed economic and workforce development organizations. He started in economic development at the local level in the City of Hollister. His success in Hollister allowed him to quickly rise to lead economic development in the City of Springfield. Dixon’s most recent success has been in workforce development, where he successfully coordinated major policy changes on behalf of Missouri’s 12 community colleges. Prior to Dixon’s career in economic development, he served as a Marine in Afghanistan and Pakistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Rob earned his Associate’s Degree from St. Charles Community College, graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Missouri St. Louis, and earned his Master’s degree in Public Administration from Missouri State University.

Governor Greitens released the following statement, “Our top priority is more jobs and higher pay for the people of Missouri. For too long, Missouri’s economy has struggled. Real change and bold leadership are needed to bring jobs back to our state. Rob has proven that he knows how to get results and drive change. His experiences as a Marine, economic developer, and leader of Missouri’s community colleges will help to make Missouri one of the top states for jobs. We are excited for Rob to join our team and get to work helping the people of Missouri find quality jobs.”



Rob Dixon released the following statement, "Governor Greitens and I share the same desire to transform the way Missouri does economic development. The people of Missouri need more jobs and higher pay. We’re going to compete with every state in the country to win jobs for our people. I look forward to working with economic developers across the state to create one of the top business climates in the nation.”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The top priority is more jobs and higher pay for the people of Missouri. If only there was a way that Governor Greitens could directly impact the pay and benefits of thousands of Missouri workers...

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch July 29,2016:

EFFERSON CITY • It would cost Missouri taxpayers nearly $13.7 million to bring state employee salaries more in line with the marketplace, a long-awaited study has found.

The report, released by Gov. Jay Nixon’s office on Friday, found that the base salary for 37,906 prison guards, social service workers and other state employees is the lowest in the nation and more than 10 percent below what is considered competitive in the job market.

The results are not a surprise. Low wages paid to state workers have been a thorn in the side of state government for years and have led to high turnover rates, costing taxpayers additional money in overtime and training.

According to a separate 2015 report filed by the Office of Administration’s personnel division, the Missouri Department of Mental Health saw 25.7 percent of its employees leave the workforce that year. The state’s largest agency — the 10,958-employee Department of Corrections — had a turnover rate of 16.3 percent.

The new report, compiled by St. Louis-based CBIZ Human Capital Services at a maximum cost of $300,000, found benefits, including health insurance, are better than average, but still not enough to offset the low salaries.

“State employees are hardworking public servants who have dedicated their careers to keeping Missouri a great place to live, work and raise a family,” said Doug Nelson, commissioner of Nixon’s Office of Administration. “This study will help determine what can be done to help enhance Missouri’s ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified workers.”

Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, said he hopes the study can be used to develop a plan to address the salary issue.

"Missouri's state employees are its number one asset, and these employees have grown weary of decades of political-speak about improving their pay. This study will provide a mechanism to move from talk to action," Kehoe said in a statement Friday.


State employees are not expected to receive any raise in 2017.

Anonymous said...

That's the republican way! They don't need no stinkin' raises! That would hurt the bottom line! But our beloved politicians are making a killing from their lobbyist family members. By the way, aren't we about due for another tax break for the top 1%?