By Mike McKinney, projo.com

Governor Carcieri has ordered the state Department of Administration to remove its job posting for a public affairs officer, according to his office.

On projo.com yesterday and in today's print edition, The Journal reported that the department had posted an opening for the job, a new position, at $66,677 to $75,598 annually.

The story noted that the job was posted at the same time that the governor is trying to reduce state spending.

"When made aware of the posting for the new position, the governor immediately informed the Department of Administration to remove the posting and the position," Carcieri's spokeswoman, Amy Kempe, wrote in an e-mail this morning.

Later today, asked why Carcieri ordered the cancellation of the job posting, Kempe said: "The governor was not aware that the job was going to be posted and when he was he informed that it was posted, he asked for its immediate removal...He does understand that in light of the budget constraints that it is not the time the state should be hiring people. It should be looking for ways to be more efficient.''

Today's Journal story noted that the window for applications opened yesterday, on the same day the governor announced that he was requiring members of Council 94, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees and any other union that in recent weeks rejected a contract offer to pay more toward the premiums for their health insurance, under basically the same terms the workers rejected.

In her e-mail, Kempe noted that the job would have included media relations but also the management of state mandated reporting to the legislature and other entities.

She also said it would have "provided the public and media" better access to information.

The PR person would have worked for the new director of administration, Jerome Williams. Recent DOA directors have not had such a staffer.

-- With reports from Katherine Gregg of the Journal State House Bureau