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Concerns over energy prices, inflation, and general cost of living continue to dominate the headlines and the threat of a recession hovers over economic forecasts. 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. Ned Lamont previously touted the agreement as a way to retain state employees amid a wave of potential retirements. The House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. Connecticut holds $3.1 billion in its rainy day fund, equal to 15% of annual operating costs the maximum allowed by law. Ned Lamont speaks at a news conference at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, in Bridgeport, Conn. March 29, 2021. The $3 billion in budget reserves and $4 billion in projected surplus pales in comparison with the $95.4 billion in long-term unfunded obligations Connecticut has, ODea said, referring to the combined pension, retirement health care and bonded debt the Lamont administration listed last November in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. The raises will cost the state $13.3 million and the bonuses $2 million. The minimum wage in Connecticut is scheduled to increase to $15 per hour on June 1, 2023. . The easiest way out of the crisis is to keep employees on board by offering them generous pay and benefit incentives. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. There is also a large group if tier 1s who receive 3% guaranteed, no inflation adjustments. Gov. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. The House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. BCG documented that the sclerotic state bureaucracy takes an average of 33 weeks to hire a new employee. Dannel Malloy included a provision to change the COLAs for state employees who retire after July 1, 2022. 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. Connecticut has more per capita debt than most other states, and those long-term obligations are expected to put considerable pressure on state finances for decades to come. The comptrollers office cautions that some those eligible to retire will not yet have earned full retirement benefits, giving some an incentive to stay. 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. The program also will allow the state to abandon plans for a costly upgrade to its email system. The year over year increases drive up the amount paid out by Connecticuts severely underfunded State Employee Retirement System. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. Geballes office is open to a conference room, where an erasable white board hangs on the wall, running the length of the room. State law calls for equity in salary adjustments between union and non-union employees. "I'm very concerned this is unsustainable, opponent Kevin Maloney told lawmakers at a public hearing Monday. 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. Josh Geballe, the commissioner of administrative services. The legislature's Appropriations Committee endorsed significant raises and $3,500 in bonuses Monday for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Its nothing more than a handout.. 4:04 pm. Each of the 3.6 million residents in Connecticut rely on the critical public services state workers provide whether you are standing in line at the DMV, attending a technical school, community college or state university, getting treatment at UConn Health, driving on our roads and bridges, enjoying a state park or beach, or any of the other ubiquitous public services you will be uplifted by these fair and honorable contracts, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition wrote in a statement after the Senate vote. in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report. The agreement calls for 2.5 percent general wage increases and step increases retroactive to July 1, 2022. My hypothesis coming in was that there are going to be more similarities to how we solve some of the challenges we have than differences, private to public, Geballe said. He said DAS has capable managers pushing for change, such as Hermes and the states chief information officer, Mark Raymond. It includes 2.5% raises for four straight years that would be retroactive to July 1, 2021. So, it is a safe bet that Lamont will sign a juicy new wage contract with SEBAC. Likely, the governors spinmeisters will follow the lead of union leaders in referring to all state employees as frontline workers, although many agencies were closed to the public during most of the pandemic. People know not to bring paper in here, said Josh Geballe, a former IBM executive and tech entrepreneur. As a 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. And while some criticized the bonuses, the Hamden lawmaker and others say they would save the state money over the long haul. I think all of the stakeholders lament it, but then find the excuses for why we cant change it. The Malloy administration hired a customer-service expert to improve service at the much-maligned Department of Motor Vehicles, and Lamont won passage of legislation reducing the need for residents to go to the DMV: Drivers licenses now are good for eight years, not six; and renewals of vehicle registrations come every three years, not two. Fazio said that it reflects the pull unions have on state government and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 22-13 along party lines to approve the contracts, which cover about 46,000 workers the bulk of the state's workforce. The only Tier II members who are required to make retirement contributions are: Individuals serving in hazardous duty positions; and Individuals who elected to pay an additional contribution to maintain the current normal retirement age. The. The one thing we know about Ned Lamont or any Democrat, for that matter is that he will not fight the unions. Lamont could rehire retired workers as independent contractors, but then he would be paying those fees as well as funding retirement benefits. Its also done with the best financial interests of the state at heart.. 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. Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. It will slow cost-of-living adjustments for all new retirees and raise health costs for a few, primarily high earners. 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. Geballe is no stranger to bureaucracies and the opportunities, challenges and necessities of wrenching change: He spent 11 years at IBM, which employs 350,000 people worldwide and preaches that the world is in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution, a convergence of new technologies powered by cloud computing. CONNECTICUT The state Senate gave final approval to the raise and bonus package for state employees. 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. At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Beginning after the July 1, 2022 cut off, the State has relinquished their obligation to adjust pension payments at least 2% (current minimum) for inflation. Retired state employees receive a cost-of-living adjustment every year in either January or July depending on the employees retirement date based on the CPI-W for the previous 12 months. The non-unionized managers will receive a one-time bonus of $2,000 and 7.5% in wage increases, including a 3.5% cost-of-living increase and up to 4% annual increments. Find State Employee Benefits, Union Contractions, Equal Employment Opportunity Information, Tuition Reimbursement . Opinion: Gov. Marc was a 2014 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow and his work has appeared in The Federalist, American Thinker, The Skeptical Inquirer, World Net Daily and Real Clear Policy. For retirements prior to June 30, 2022, these cumulative raises will be paid each year on either January 1st or July 1st depending on your date of retirement (DOR). We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. 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. BCG was to help accelerate efficiency efforts, enabling the state to operate with less manpower. 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. 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 [nonprofit] industry pegs the inflationary loss its taking on these payments at $460 million per year, according to the CT Mirror. Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. The new raises are intended to give greater confidence to these managers that they will have consistent treatment with the union employees. With only 41 weeks remaining to replace retiring employees, the Lamont administration is fast approaching a severe manpower crisis. 0:04. Government bureaucracies are notoriously resistant to change, layered with the accretion of rules, processes, union contracts, all contributing to a workplace culture. Theres no way to take on the legacy of mass incarceration other than to undo it, one step at a time. 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. SEBAC employees who are employed before March . More than 46,000 Connecticut state employees could soon get a significant raise -- and bonuses - thanks to a new union contract that won approval in a key legislative committee Monday. This deal was billed as a retention effort, said Rep. Laura Devlin, R- Fairfield, who is campaigning for lieutenant governor as the running mate of GOP gubernatorial contender Bob Stefanowski of Madison. 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. Osten said the raises reflect the valuable work state employees provide daily, and particularly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Tier II is a non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan for most members. The year over year increases drive up the amount paid out by Connecticut's severely underfunded State Employee Retirement System. Osten said the raises reflect the valuable work state employees provide daily, and particularly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Outside his 15th-floor office in a downtown Hartford complex is a big empty space once occupied by file cabinets. The state of Connecticut is in the best financial condition that I can recall, being up here 10 years, said Rep. Michael DAgostino, D-Hamden, who led the debate in favor of the raises. /. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. 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. Deserves got nothing to do with it, Rep. Thomas ODea, R-Ledyard, said, citing the famous dialogue Clint Eastwoods Western outlaw uttered in Unforgiven, the 1992 Academy Award-winning film. Photos: Iconic Landmarks To Visit Across CT. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. We felt one of the most efficient ways and equitable ways to make a dent in this challenge was to go back and provide those same increases to the managers that had already been given to our union employees.. 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. Access all Premium Content and the E-Edition for 1 day. Retired Connecticut state employees will see a substantial bump to their pension payments as a result of increasing economic inflation. But we have a bonus that starts after July 1. Ned Lamont in Darien earlier this month. 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. It is unsustainable and, more plainly, unjust. Your pension is subject to an annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). 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. "I come out of the private sector. "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. 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. I dont believe, fundamentally, that this agreement is fair at all.. The proposed contract is generous. will call the "2022 Changes") go into effect as of July 1, 2022(the "Effective Date"). Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are The minimum 2 percent COLA also means that during years in which inflation was low, they still got a boost over the inflation rate. The $2,000 payment will only be available to employees who were hired or appointed before June 30, 2018. If you value the story you just read please consider making a donation. 3.2K views, 182 likes, 87 loves, 302 comments, 161 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Victory Channel: The Victory Channel is LIVE with Victory News! Sen. Cathy Osten defending the SEBAC deal. That helps focus peoples minds and increase their willingness to change and to take risks. Negotiators will meet again to determine raises after the time period. In an effort to mitigate the potential loss of thousands of state employees, Gov. Despite Lamonts claims to the contrary, it is highly likely that he will award state employees significant future wage increases as well as a generous modification of cost-of-living adjustments to their pensions after their retirement. Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled. The package was previously approved by the House. With this agreement, we were able to achieve those goals in a realistic way that does not imperil our future prospects and honors the great service that has and will continue to benefit our residents, Lamont said in a statement. Automation is a word that makes unions nervous, even as they acknowledge the nature of work is changing. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you publish it. 90% of our revenue is contributed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2015 and 2020 there was only one year 2018 during which the CPI-W for July was above 2 percent. And that was before surging state income and business tax receipts pushed this fiscal years surplus from $2.7 billion to $4 billion. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Private-sector employees can only dream of having that, said Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol. The state usually experiences 2,000 to 2,500 annual state employee retirements, according to the CT Mirror. Republicans countered Friday that the raises and bonuses far outstrip what households in the private sector are receiving. Ned Lamont is negotiating a new wage contract with the State Employees Bargaining Alliance Coalition. DAgostino said he believes arbitrators would have awarded unions annual cost-of-living raises of 3% or 3.5% given the state governments enhanced ability to pay. As we noted in a report andCT Mirrorop-ed last year, the debate over whether were in a national recession really misses the point for Connecticut residents. Your email address will not be published. Union leaders say the workforce is ready, if wary. So, more outsourcing would compound the squeeze on the nonprofits, either rendering their condition even more precarious or necessitating a significant increase in their reimbursement rates. Ned Lamont contracted with the Boston Consulting Group for a report of how to increase state government efficiency. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. This is a carousel. "But this is also a unique situation where state employees did extraordinary work during a paradigm-altering pandemic, inflation has concurrently increased, and the state workforce could potentially undergo significant changes due to retirements and uncompetitive wages.". 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. 2023 The Conneticut News Project. Connecticut State Department of Administrative Services CT.gov Home Department of Administrative Services Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations Compensation Salary Increase Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Salary Increase Non-Represented Employees Expense Reimbursement/Meal Allowance Pay Differential Longevity Recruitment Pay GOP minority says taxpayers got a raw deal, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Lamonts predecessor, Dannel Malloy, once boasted to a union gathering, I am your servant. Lamont is also in public (union) service, willingly or not. If youre going to get a bonus, youve got to stick around with us for a while, said Rep. Jay Case, R-Winsted. As a Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut. I think were at a time where change is coming, whether people like it or not. Are more state employees retiring than usual? Employees who retire after that date will get less lucrative retirement benefits. Julia Bergman is a former reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. They would then get the same increase on July 1, 2022 and again on July 1, 2023. 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. The agreement includes: 2.5% general wage increases in each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. 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. Marc can be reached at, Connecticut saw a 1,600 decrease in nonfarm industry positions in December, while November private sector gains (3,300) were revised down [], Eviction cases in Hartford and Bridgeport have remained far below historical averages since the Supreme Court overturned the federal eviction []. How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? 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.

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