Fazio cited a study by the American Enterprise Institute, which found that Connecticut state employees on average are paid 5.6 percent less in salary than a private sector employee with similar qualifications. Because the state is facing a massive retirement wave, which, if mishandled, could cripple state government. Democratic governors in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia are temporarily suspending raises for state employees or freezing pay until they can better understand the fiscal impact of the pandemic, but, thus far, Connecticut state employees are still scheduled to receive a second pay increase, projected to cost taxpayers $353 million. Privacy Policy. Creative Commons. Some Republicans have said the hefty bonuses are only an election-year stunt from Lamont, a Democrat, to shore up his standing with his labor base. Connecticut Public Radio | Lamont called DAS one of the jobs where we wanted to think a little more out of the box., Like Lamont, Geballe is a graduate of the School of Management at Yale. During that time Connecticuts average pension payment increased 15 percent from $34.589 in 2015 to $39,887 in 2020. The best long-run thing for the state pension system is to have inflation just at or above 2%. "I'm very concerned this is unsustainable, opponent Kevin Maloney told lawmakers at a public hearing Monday. Government bureaucracies are notoriously resistant to change, layered with the accretion of rules, processes, union contracts, all contributing to a workplace culture. The House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. The state and unions have the option of continuing the same level of raises for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, or they can negotiate different compensation levels. Were still largely in a world by the way, very similar to most every other state where there are numerous processes which are still paper based, which are still highly manual, which rely on very old custom software, Geballe said. Today were living in a post-COVID world, where employees and not employers are ruling the job market, said Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. Glidden is now engaged with the administration on the possibility of some state government professionals teleworking. Connecticut is facing pressure from the private sector, municipalities and other states for its workers, Osten said, adding that the pandemic has made many state jobs less attractive. All Rights Reserved. 90% of our revenue is contributed. Gusty winds add new twist to brush fires in CT, officials say, What's next for the nuclear waste that's been in CT for 50 years, Building emissions are a key climate change contributor in CT, After decades in unmarked grave, CT homicide victim put to rest. Its, Well, thats the way weve always done it. . Driven by a surge in state employee retirements, Connecticut's spending on pension payments ballooned to a recordhigh $2.5 billion in 2022, state data shows. The agreement includes: 2.5% general wage increases in each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. There will be no guaranteed minimum for those who retire after July 1, 2022, and their first potential COLA would come in 30 months, not 12. So, it is a safe bet that Lamont will sign a juicy new wage contract with SEBAC. The year over year increases drive up the amount paid out by Connecticuts severely underfunded State Employee Retirement System. Geballe is commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, the blandly named agency at the heart of the state bureaucracy. April 23, 2023 . The managers who will receive the raises include division heads at state agencies, as well as commissioners and deputy commissioners. Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! The Democrat-controlled House voted 96-52 to approve the contracts, after a four-hour debate during which Republicans insisted the compensation far outstrips what private-sector workers are receiving, or what taxpayers can afford. Our economy has grown at one of the slowest rates in the nation for the past decade, and we are getting outpaced year after year. Inevitably, it will be highly unpopular, so the announcement will be buried as deeply as possible and spun like a top by Lamonts spokespeople. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. Automation is a word that makes unions nervous, even as they acknowledge the nature of work is changing. Ned Lamont believes it will keep critical state workers on the job. As a Its a matter of whether we can afford it.. As we go into a time period where we expect a significant number of retirements, we want to make sure that we can attract and retain top talent across all of our agencies whether in management or non-management positions, McCaw said. October 25, 2021 @ Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers Full legislature expected to vote before May 4 by Keith M. Phaneuf April 18, 2022 @ 1:08 pm Rob Baril, the president of SEIU 1199,. The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. But that surge followed a nearly decade-long stretch in which state tax receipts from the same source badly underperformed. Gov. The Lamont administration, labor leaders and other supporters of the increases have said they believe unions could have gotten even larger raises had they rejected the states offer and gone to arbitration. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 22-13 along party lines to approve the contracts, which cover about 46,000 workers the bulk of the states workforce. Prior to joining CT Mirror Keith was State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, a reporter for the Day of New London, and a former contributing writer to The New York Times. He is one of the mid-career, private-sector executives to join the administration of Gov. 10:27 pm, When will REtirees see the 6% in pensions im tier 2, TO vinny, you get The first increase 9 months after you retire, 60% of CPI W. The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticuts government work for its residents. The Office of the State Comptroller reports that state government found a way to spend $47.11 billion in 2022 and, if trends continue, we can expect that number to grow even more going forward. Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut. in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report. There is ample evidence that this is a fair contract, a reasonable contract, an affordable contract, she said of Connecticuts wage hikes. Today were living in a post-COVID world, where employees and not employers are ruling the job market, said Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. Tier II is a non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan for most members. State and union officials are expected to meet again in the fourth year to negotiate wages. 0:04. Last March, in a report that received relatively little media coverage, Boston Consulting Group documented that 27 percent of the state workforce is eligible to retire before June 30, 2022, and. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. Were hemorrhaging workers right now, DAgostino said. December 30, 2021 @ Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. We share the concern about whats going to happen in 2022, said Dave Glidden, the executive director of CSEA SEIU Local 2001, which represents 5,000 state employees. Jessica Hill / Associated Press More than 40,000 unionized state employees would receive $3,500 each in special bonuses by mid-July under tentative contract agreements reached this week with. In the past, similar planned changes to retirement benefits have triggered waves of retirements before the changes take place, the OLR report states. Republicans countered Friday that the raises and bonuses far outstrip what households in the private sector are receiving. So why might Lamont do something so patently unfair and so politically toxic as awarding pay raises to already overcompensated state workers while most Connecticut citizens and voters have been and still are hurting very badly? Fazio said that it reflects the pull unions have on state government and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Photos: Iconic Landmarks To Visit Across CT. This proposed contract is a raw deal for the working people of this state, said Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, who noted state workers, on average, would receive more than $10,000 in total added compensation over four years. He has been the state finances reporter at CT Mirror since it launched in 2010. The new raises are intended to give greater confidence to these managers that they will have consistent treatment with the union employees. DARRELL HACKETT I would say that largely we havent seen that partnership happen, but we continue to have the door wide open, Glidden said. Finance panel: Next CT tax fairness study must focus on inequality, CT budget battle heats up as Lamont offers rosy financial picture, State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. State law calls for equity in salary adjustments between union and non-union employees. The coalition, which represents most state employee unions excluding the state police, added that, It is a critical step in resolving the current staffing crisis that is the consequence of decades of disinvestment and austerity., Lamont spokeswoman Lora Rae Anderson said, Were happy the House has passed the SEBAC agreement, and we are hopeful the Senate will do the same.. It seems that JavaScript is not working in your browser. Not the fact that Connecticut has had a big contraction in its workforce during the pandemic of about 6 percent and a top 10 unemployment rate, currently exceeding 7 percent, versus a national average nearing 5 percent. Dannel P. Malloy takes effect. We were trying to get people not to retire well, thats not what this agreement does, said Sen. Craig Miner of Litchfield, ranking GOP senator on the Appropriations Committee. State government not only enjoys a $3.1 billion rainy day fund, equal to 15% of annual operating costs the maximum allowed by law but the current fiscal year is on pace to close an unprecedented $4 billion in the black. Bonuses would be prorated for part-time employees. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox, More than 46,000 Connecticut state employees could soon get a significant raise -- and bonuses thanks to a new union. It is unsustainable and, more plainly, unjust. That sum hasnt changed much in two decades. Ned Lamont administration to attract more people to stay and move into these jobs, and to make their salaries more in line with unionized workers. The package was previously approved by the House. The raises provided to state managers mirror what the state provided to union workers over the past four years under the 2017 agreement with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition. The $2 billion agreement also includes special lump-sum payments of $2,500 for active employees who've . Meanwhile, too much of the states work still is done on paper, and the information that is collected digitally cannot be easily shared among agencies, Geballe said. But overall, as agency heads told Geballe as he made the rounds in January and February, the states hiring process still is cumbersome, with rarely updated job classifications that are numerous, narrowly drawn and can require their own tests. Gov. The minimum wage in Connecticut is scheduled to increase to $15 per hour on June 1, 2023. . Some Republicans have said the hefty bonuses are only an election-year stunt from Lamont, a Democrat, to shore up his standing with his labor base. The state usually experiences 2,000 to 2,500 annual state employee retirements, according to the CT Mirror. Your pension is subject to an annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). Youll notice when you look around here, there is no paper. McCaw said some of the prior management positions that are now unionized include the assistant attorney general, state police captains and lieutenants, supervisors with the Department of Children and Families, parole managers and deputy wardens. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. The state also faces a potential wave of retirements. She noted that West Virginia recently granted state employees a 5% raise while Arizona bumped pay for its correction officers by 20% and for workers in many other departments by 10%. 2023 The Conneticut News Project. Geballe said the administration has a vision of where to go with technology, primarily by offering consumers and businesses a digital portal to state government. The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4thand will adjourn on June 7th. The Florida House and Senate are working on a budget whose bottom line for state workers is a $224 million pay raise - that's about $44 a week, ($2,300 annually) for the 97,000 employees in the . What can be done to lower home heating bills? How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. House passes raises, bonuses for CT state employees By Keith M. Phaneuf / CTMirror.org Published April 21, 2022 at 5:22 PM EDT The House of Representatives approved a four-year package of raises Thursday that includes $3,500 in bonuses later this spring and summer for about 46,000 unionized state employees. If inflation were 1% Then the absolute COLA would be low, but the burden on the state budget and taxpayers would be growing, because inflation under 2% leads to a real pension burden increase. The Senate gave final approval Friday to a four-year package of raises for state employees that includes $3,500 in bonuses to help stem a surge in worker retirements. In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and an additional $1,000 bonus in mid-July. Any wage hikes and benefits would come on the heels of big wage increases in 2019 and 2020 under the old wage contract, which expired this past summer. The study also found that Connecticut state employees are compensated 33 percent more than a similar private sector employee when pension, healthcare and other fringe benefits are taken into account. CONNECTICUT The state Senate gave final approval to the raise and bonus package for state employees. We enable organizations to maximize Sales target achievement using our Sales Incentive & Performance Management Technology. Josh Geballe, the commissioner of administrative services. We were trying to get people not to retire well, thats not what this agreement does, said Sen. Craig Miner of Litchfield, ranking GOP senator on the Appropriations Committee. Your email address will not be published. By, Corporate Support: Advertising & Sponsorship, See stories by Keith M. Phaneuf / CTMirror.org, Love Wins at WCSU benefit concert for saxophonists daughter lost at Sandy Hook, Week in CT News: Se'Cret Pierce killing, what's in our water, Zero interest loans are back for some home buyers in Connecticut, Erica Lafferty has been fighting since Sandy Hook. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. More than 30 state employee bargaining units have ratified contracts that would provide more than 40,000 workers with $3,500 in bonuses by July, along with three years of raises, the State. CT Gov. In a letter to his co-chair in management, Rinker wrote: I predict that some day some one will want to change state employment and the report you signed off on wil be the basis for that change., Change is coming for Connecticut state employees, 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, Police: Pedestrian killed in crash on Route 9 in Middletown, Police: Horses starved, kept in unsanitary conditions on CT farm, Middletown to restart Bird e-bike, scooter microtransit program, Middletown residents cheer decision to fully replace Pameacha dam, Cromwell man sentenced for carjacking date at knifepoint in 2020, Police: Suspect in Cromwell hotel robbery threatened to use a gun, Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim begins campaign for 2nd term, 2 Middletown youths charged in connection with school fight, Middlesex County Historical Society to receive 3 historic objects, East Hampton fire department marks 100 years with Bevin cowbells, Police: Pedestrian struck, killed in Route 9 crash in Middletown, New Britain bar's liquor license suspended after serving alcohol to minors, officials say, Police: Horses starved and kept in unsanitary conditions on Middletown property, Police: Threat made to Middletown schools deemed not credible, CT records first cases of new COVID variant Arcturus, transmission remains low, Police: Mystic woman killed, mother and daughter seriously hurt in Gold Star Highway crash in Groton. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. There are also new bonuses: $2,500 next month and an extra $1,000 in mid-July. The Lamont administration and SEBAC argue the deal is actually good for taxpayers, because an arbitrator would likely award workers even bigger raises. The [nonprofit] industry pegs the inflationary loss its taking on these payments at $460 million per year, according to the CT Mirror. Corporate Support: Advertising & Sponsorship, saves the state about $150 million over the next decade. Gov. The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition represents 35 different bargaining units and more than 40,000 state employees. Please reload the page and try again. Several Republican lawmakers decried the deal and said it would exacerbate Connecticuts fiscal woes. BCG documented that the sclerotic state bureaucracy takes an average of 33 weeks to hire a new employee. Josh Geballe, the states chief operating officer and commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, said state agency heads have found it difficult to promote top performers in their departments because the employees would either have to take a pay cut or worry they wont be afforded the same prospective increases as those in bargaining units. In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and another $1,000 bonus in mid-July. The announcement Thursday from the governors office of the 7.5% raises comes as union workers ramp up their fight for wage increases in their new contracts, which they are currently negotiating with the state. Lamont says the bonuses are crucial to retain state employees, who are retiring in larger-than-normal numbers this spring. The new deal will bring Microsoft 365 software to all state agencies. Julia Bergman is a former reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. 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Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ad6f3785a83847b97c7976185623d348" );document.getElementById("h4d5fc382f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); 216 Main StreetHartford, CT 06106[emailprotected], 2021 Yankee Institute for Public Policy. While we wait to see the thousands of individual and committee bills that while dominate the myriad policy debates this year, Yankee Institute is hard at work promoting free-market solutions to the problems we face from Stamford to Putnam and Mystic to Salisbury. Ideal timing for the announcement would be between Christmas and the New Year. That includes Gov. Republicans also said they appreciate the hard work of state employees, particularly during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, but the issue isnt as simple as some believe. According to the Office of Legislative Research in their analysis of a potential retirement wave, COLAs for new retirees will match the CPI-W during years it is 2 percent or less. "I think we're in great shape. Its also imperative that we do so. Employees who retire after that date will get less lucrative retirement benefits. When that expires in 2024, the states fiscal position could turn, some lawmakers argue, particularly if the national inflation rate which topped 7% last year and exceeds 8% early in 2022 remains high. "Today is Tax Day People want to know where their tax dollars are going, said Kim Healy, a GOP Wilton selectman running for the Connecticut House of Representatives. "The state has to live within its means just like the families and businesses we serve and represent," Lamont said in a statement when the deal was announced.
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