Cleveland slams State Board of Health over Doerflinger's $189K salary

Cleveland Comments on New Interim Health Director Salary

OKLAHOMA CITY –State Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, issued the following statement today after the Oklahoma State Board of Health approved a salary of $189,000 for Interim Commissioner Preston Doerflinger. He was appointed to the role in October after officials at the Oklahoma State Health Department (OSDH) mismanaged at least $30 million. Prior to taking this position at OSDH, Doerflinger served as director of the Office of Management & Enterprise Services (OMES). He currently serves as the Secretary of Finance and Revenue as well.

“I am absolutely outraged by the news that Preston Doerflinger will now be making nearly $200,000 as the interim head of the OSDH. This salary agreement gives Doerflinger a substantial raise over what he was earning at OMES.

“Taxpayers are now footing an enormous bill for an interim director who meets not a single qualification for the commissioner of health outlined in statute. Oklahomans are paying Doerflinger to ‘fix’ the Health Department’s financial crisis, yet Doerflinger failed to catch this multimillion dollar mismanagement when he was at OMES, supposedly overseeing the whole thing.

“The salary announcement comes while the Health Department continues plans to lay off over 200 hardworking folks in this state. Oklahomans deserve better. The board’s decision to fork over $189,000 annually to Doerflinger makes one thing perfectly clear: mismanagement and ineptitude pay in Oklahoma.”

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Doerflinger's salary is an interesting topic to discuss. According to Oklahoma Watch, he was getting paid $172,458 as OMES director (up from $108k a few years ago). Back in 2012, when Doerflinger was appointed interim head of DHS, the Tulsa World wrote 'The commission approved a salary for Doerflinger of $155,000, but he will accept only the $109,000 he now makes as state finance director. "I appreciate it, but I feel that it is appropriate to stay at my current pay level," [Doerflinger] said.'