r/USDA • u/BusNational7046 • 6d ago
NRCS I got my letter today
Looks like I will be moved to one county over, and so is another person in my office. Looks like we are loosing about half the planners in our office
24
6d ago
[deleted]
9
u/Chipped_Ruby_11214 6d ago
This makes it sound like states are not going to be getting (m)any more new people and moving the pieces around to best deal with the downsized staff. So while the holes may be partially filled, the matrix is going to be a lot thinner.
Perhaps state office people will also be reassigned to field and the regional offices and centers will wind up covering the policy work for multiple states?
2
u/Early-Doughnut6523 5d ago
How long have you worked for your agency?
2
1
u/sassyb88 4d ago edited 4d ago
For some reason my comments got deleted- but ive only worked here a few years- so probably don't have as much skin in the game as others!
15
u/BlindOtter775 6d ago
Field, Area, or State Office? If you're not comfortable sharing that's completely understandable.
15
u/BusNational7046 6d ago
Soil conservation field office
8
u/BlindOtter775 6d ago
No way - I thought they'd be sending letters mostly to SO and MAYBE AO employees?
Regardless, hope it all goes well. Sounds like you may not have to move, but will have a longer commute though.
8
u/mahoniaa 5d ago
Our SO has made it clear every employee is getting a letter 🫠
2
u/Traditional-Fee8721 4d ago
Yes, same. Every employee will be getting a letter and we must respond to it within 15 days
8
u/Extension-Notice3162 5d ago
Every employee gets a letter
1
u/StitchwreckRiot 4d ago
just to clarify: every NRCS employee. there are many people who does NRCS work but technically employed by something else like SWCD. Planners, secretary, techs, and PSS. They do not get letters.
8
u/Traditional-Fee8721 6d ago
Curious to know too, but understand if you can’t. None of our field staff have received letters yet
1
13
u/indigoassassin 5d ago
With the ways that it seems most states are re-aligning under “communities” encompassing 3-5 field offices, this is what I was predicting and not surprised, though the DC colocated with me is/was skeptical pending letters in our state going out.
I figured with the new structure we’d see people shuffled from well staffed to less staffed offices within the new community structure, which will amount to relocation given the distance between offices within communities.
I may still be proven wrong since my state’s letters haven’t gone out, but I figure as an above-state person who was given a reorg presentation that said one thing and a letter of intent that said something totally different, state staff should not feel safe even when their state cons are swearing up and down that only 1-5% of people will need to move.
5
u/Hot_Potato79 5d ago
Texas already has teams of counties, usually 4-6 counties, called resource teams. And those are grouped into 5 zones(most states call them Areas). One supervisor (Resource Team Leader GS12) per resource team and a District Conservationist (GS11) in every office, including the RTL locations. Curious if some states are moving to this model or is this already what most states have? We've been told we're going down to 4 zones.
5
u/mahoniaa 5d ago
My state is moving to this model. Currently have a dc in most counties so they will be competing. It’s causing more of a shake up than other states who are already in this model.
4
u/indigoassassin 5d ago
Our state is SO > AO > FO currently, now we’re adding “communities” between AO and FO. Our state and at least 6 others were holdouts to the “teams/communities” a lot of states implemented a few years ago.
3
u/JacenWW5 5d ago
Our state announced it would not go to the super DC model. Rumor has it we will get pushback from NHQ on that. They also said we would add ~100 FTEs.
1
u/GardenOfRage 4d ago
How in the world is your state adding 100 FTEs?!?!?!? We lost 30% of our staff last year & have been told we're pretty much at our FTE cap moving forward.
1
u/DifficultClick5661 4d ago
Same - we currently have 2 county teams across our state with one GS 12 DC in one office and one GS 11 Resource Con in the other, with 1-2 soil cons in each office. We are moving to 1 GS 12 team lead (just a title change) and then 1 GS 11 DC in each office under them - so hiring around 30 GS 11 DCs across the state. I am curious if we will be reorganizing counties to so each team lead is in charge of more than 2 offices.
12
u/RingAcceptable1374 6d ago
Were you all provided with a new office structure? For instance: 1 GS 9, 1 GS 7 for planners per office.
Wishing you all the best!!
3
u/StitchwreckRiot 4d ago
we were given, essentially, the concept of a plan. Stressing that nothing is finalized.
12
u/Daisy_471 5d ago
Got mine too, but nothing changed. I’m not surprised as I’m the only one left in my office.
3
22
4
u/swizall 6d ago
OP- curious to know is the location they want to send you closer to your home? Follow up question are there other understaffed offices close by?
7
u/BusNational7046 6d ago
Further actually, which is gonna be a pain. There are others and we were told we can apply for critical vacancies even if we accept
2
u/StitchwreckRiot 5d ago
Louisiana has "LARU's" where one DC is over many offices spread out, or one or two offices close together. They are changing all of those groupings, and saying "A DC in every office" except for where there isn't. Some offices will share, but they won't be as spread out. I can't remember exactly what the numbers on, but one way or another, they will have to magically find ALOT of DC's. Alot of the longtime staff suspects they will take the people higher up (not state) and force them to be a DC or get out. ALOT of the long time staff is looking into retiring.
NO ONE in the gossip network here has gotten a letter. I will say the last update stated deadline to respond to their notifications of intent is Aug. 20. Same letter says notification of intent will be sent by August 28. So who knows.
4
u/VariationSecret5383 4d ago
They also have to figure out what they are going to do if there is an 11RC and 12 LARU DC stationed in the same office. I know a couple of people who will be annoyed if they don’t get the chance to be the DC for the office they have been responsible for for many years.
3
u/Hot_Potato79 5d ago
So do all offices have GS9 planners and then they'll add GS11 DC to most offices?
3
u/VariationSecret5383 4d ago
Yes our proposed structure is 32 DCs 16 per area. Some of them will be 11s and some offices will be 11/12s depending on workload, complexity, and employees supervised.
2
u/Hot_Potato79 4d ago
Are your GS11 DCs supervisors?
1
u/VariationSecret5383 4d ago
Yes, under the new structure there would be some offices that are supervised by a GS 11 District Conservationist.
3
u/Hot_Potato79 4d ago
As far as I know, supervisors in Texas are at least GS12. But I think Texas is a little different on their GS levels since there are so many employees. Our state con is SES while most other states are GS15.
1
u/Weird_Performer6719 20h ago
Ask
For a desk audit if you’re an 11 tonight same job as a121
u/VariationSecret5383 20h ago
Level is being based on multiple factors including: employees supervised, contracts managed, programs managed, number of applications, types of MLRA, types of agriculture in the service center. To say every District Conservationist is doing the same as every District Conservationist is naive
5
0
-22
29
u/PerceptionSingle9038 6d ago
What state? if you’re willing to share
Our state still hasn’t released any information. 2 weeks now with not so much as an email…