A retired state administrator was paid almost 95 thousand dollars to run the Arizona Department of Economic Security for 75 days as the agency worked to process a crush of unemployment claims.
Tom Betlach ran the agency from March 20 through June 3 as it struggled to reprogram its computer system to handle unemployment claims from self-employed workers like Uber and Lyft drivers. It’s faced months of complaints from people who have problems getting their unemployment checks and can’t reach the agency. The Arizona Republic reports that Betlach’s consulting company was paid almost 9 thousand dollars a week through Governor Doug Ducey’s office. A spokesperson for Ducey says Betlach brought critical experience to the job.
