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. CT Gov. Union leaders say the workforce is ready, if wary. It is unsustainable and, more plainly, unjust. Republicans argue the SEBAC package will lead to big deficits in a few years -- and tax hikes. 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. As a State of Connecticut employee you may be entitled to a host of benefits that are not only attractive, but also may be portable should your career . And that was before surging state income and business tax receipts pushed this fiscal years surplus from $2.7 billion to $4 billion. Lamont says the bonuses are crucial to retain state employees, who are retiring in larger-than-normal numbers this spring. On top of that, most workers would "step" into a higher pay grade, adding an extra 2% to most raises. The [nonprofit] industry pegs the inflationary loss its taking on these payments at $460 million per year, according to the CT Mirror. That includes Gov. 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. 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. Part of the 2017 SEBAC Agreement between the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition and Gov. The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4thand will adjourn on June 7th. Photos: Iconic Landmarks To Visit Across CT. Our product, Incentmax, is a dedicated sales incentive & performance management technology that links business goals with Sales reps & Customer facing team members' variable payments or Incentives/commissions, helping the increase in 5-10 % sales target achievement. Lamonts predecessor, Dannel Malloy, once boasted to a union gathering, I am your servant. Lamont is also in public (union) service, willingly or not. People know not to bring paper in here, said Josh Geballe, a former IBM executive and tech entrepreneur. Fazio said it reflects the pull unions have on state government, and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Ned Lamont in Darien earlier this month. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. Geballe said he just renewed his registration on-line. "I've got to recruit and keep them in order to keep our government going, he said. Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled. 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%. The newest class of state police trainees will be selected from a pool of candidates who were recruited on social media and applied and initially screened online. By the latest estimates of the comptrollers office, 14,764 state employees a quarter of the workforce will be eligible to retire on July 1, 2022, when a concession deal negotiated in 2017 by the administration of Gov. In the past 10 years, the number of management-level state employees has dropped from 2,000 to 1,400, with nearly all of them choosing to leave their posts to join bargaining units and another 60 petitions currently pending, McCaw said. Efficiency is easier in concept than in actual practice. 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. 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. The proposed contract is generous. 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. Attracting people to fill managerial roles will become even more important as the state prepares for a coming wave of employees retiring next year. "I think we're in great shape. 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. That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. Example: Tier I Benefit Estimator: The following benefit Estimator provides estimates of the Plan B Reduction: (Tier I benefit Estimator) Cost of Living Adjustment. The budget is expected to be a record high for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which will start July 1. 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 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. Published April 18, 2022 at 3:52 PM EDT. The program also will allow the state to abandon plans for a costly upgrade to its email system. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you publish it. Corporate Support: Advertising & Sponsorship, saves the state about $150 million over the next decade. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. (His mother, Shelley, a lawyer and professor of public health at Yale, is a founding board member of the nonprofit Connecticut News Project Inc., operator of CTMirror.org.). The state also faces a potential wave of retirements. Ned Lamont believes it will keep critical state workers on the job. In exchange for lifting the debt ceiling, the bill would cap overall 2024 spending to 2022 levels -- about a $130 billion cut -- and limit growth in spending to 1% annually over the next decade. A proposal to give every full-time employee a $10,000 raise next year is causing some division among leaders in the town of Ellettsville. Were hemorrhaging workers right now, DAgostino said. . The alternatives are suboptimal. 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. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. Find State Employee Benefits, Union Contractions, Equal Employment Opportunity Information, Tuition Reimbursement . With only 41 weeks remaining to replace retiring employees, the Lamont administration is fast approaching a severe manpower crisis. Thermo Fisher Scientific bought the company the same year. DARRELL HACKETT State government coffers have swelled since 2018, due in large part to a robust stock market that has bolstered income tax receipts tied to capital gains and other investment earnings. The raises would cost the town about a half . Because of the high rate of inflation, the July COLAs are calculated based on 60 percent of CPI-W, which translates to a bump of 3.6 percent as of July 2021. There are nine classifications for custodians, 12 for assistant attorneys general, and a whopping 221 for program directors. It seems that JavaScript is not working in your browser. Its also imperative that we do so. It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. While annual retirements usually range from 2,000 to 2,500 per calendar year, more than 3,400 state employees have either retired or filed their written intentions to do so between January and March 31, 2022 alone. The changes will only affect those who retire after July of 2022, but according to the OLR report, historically such changes have resulted in a larger number of employees retiring before the cut-off date. 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. It includes 2.5% raises for four straight years that would be retroactive to July 1, 2021. Hed also like to talk about a classification system that is flexible and provides a career ladder. 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. Ned Lamont is negotiating a new wage contract with the State Employees Bargaining Alliance Coalition. The House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. Connecticut lawmakers this year will consider a bill from a veteran legislator to raise the $28,000 salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than 20 years. Ideal timing for the announcement would be between Christmas and the New Year. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members The agreement includes: 2.5% general wage increases in each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. 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,. Its, Well, thats the way weve always done it. . October 25, 2021 @ 2016 CT.gov | Connecticut's Official State Website, regular Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive and with your help, it will be. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. 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. Weve seen clerical workers go from a high of almost 9,000 to 4,000.. The states robust, short-term fiscal position is a sugar high that will pass when the federal stimulus money goes away, ODea said. The board has voted to approve the following cost of living increase for January 2023. They are our people, who we count on each day to make us safe, she said. 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. 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. 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. The raises will cost the state $13.3 million and the bonuses $2 million. DAS is the states landlord and construction manager, its hiring hall and purchasing agent, and, perhaps most vitally in the digital age, its information technology office. Negotiators will meet again to determine raises after the time period. 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. State finances also are being supported this fiscal year and next by about $3 billion in emergency federal pandemic relief. Are more state employees retiring than usual? This final increase may pose concerns for small businesses and non-profit organizations operating in the state. 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 []. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Some reflected frustrations by the public in dealing with state agencies, as well as employees knowing what is happening elsewhere in government. 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. The CREATES report noted that 8,000 employees are eligible for retirement before July 2022 and identified 200 opportunities totaling $600 to $900 million of potential value., **Ken Girardin contributed to this article**, So of you retire prior to October 2021 and receive Your Cola 9 monthe later in July 2022 , will you receive above the normal 2 percent since inflation Is hIgh. Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut. Lamont could rehire retired workers as independent contractors, but then he would be paying those fees as well as funding retirement benefits. 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. building a betterand more civilConnecticut to live, work, and play. The managers who will receive the raises include division heads at state agencies, as well as commissioners and. /. It is cloud-based, lessening the states reliance on servers, improving security and taking a step toward the ultimate goal of easing the sharing of data and documents among agencies. The contracts, which 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. Dannel Malloy included a provision to change the COLAs for state employees who retire after July 1, 2022. The year over year increases drive up the amount paid out by Connecticuts severely underfunded State Employee Retirement System. Opinion: Gov. Because the state is facing a massive retirement wave, which, if mishandled, could cripple state government. 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By 2020, the state paid $2.2 billion to 55,348 retirees. Were losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where its easier to make a living. 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. The minimum wage in Connecticut is scheduled to increase to $15 per hour on June 1, 2023. . The raises will cost the state $13.3 million and the bonuses $2 million. Here are five things to know about the deal: Employees covered by the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition would get a 2.5 percent wage increase and step increases retroactive to July 1, 2021. It will slow cost-of-living adjustments for all new retirees and raise health costs for a few, primarily high earners. 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 that about three-quarters lean toward retirement. Its nothing more than a handout.. Republican House Leader Vincent Candelora of Branford, in a statement following Thursdays announcement questioned how the raises will affect not only current contract talks with union negotiators for rank-and-file workers who want more pay, but also the work of a new task force charged with studying this issue and reporting back to the legislature., Candelora attributed the structural gulf between non-union managers and unionized employees to a vicious circle that's fueled by people at the Capitol whose baseline position is to give state employee unions everything they want.. 2K views, 27 likes, 7 loves, 18 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Dbstvstlucia: DBS MORNING SHOW & OBITUARIES 25TH APRIL 2023 APRIL 2023 No. But most House Republicans who spoke in Thursdays debate predicted taxpayers wouldnt be as happy as state employee unions are. 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. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. More than 3,400 state employees have either retired or filed their written intentions to do so between January and March 31 alone, and that total is expected to grow considerably between now and July 1. "I'm very concerned this is unsustainable, opponent Kevin Maloney told lawmakers at a public hearing Monday. But Osten said the agreements are essential to maintain a state workforce that is at its smallest size since the 1950s, an argument Lamont has made as well. You cannot be supportive of state workers and the services they provide without being supportive of the necessary funding to ensure that these positions are properly staffed, SEBAC wrote in a statement after the vote. In an effort to mitigate the potential loss of thousands of state employees, Gov. 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. Now shes asking for help herself, One musician remembers what it was like to tour the world with singer and activist Harry Belafonte, Connecticut COVID data: Your town's infection rate, hospitalizations & vaccinations, Tracking health threats, one sewage sample at a time, COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys. Ned Lamont, a cable-television entrepreneur who took office on January 9 and hired Geballe two weeks later. 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. Republicans countered Friday that the raises and bonuses far outstrip what households in the private sector are receiving. The virtually inevitable pay hikes and favorable benefit modifications will then be classified as hardship pay to reward for employees for their phantom frontline service.. Gov. "I come out of the private sector. 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. With the benefit of five and a half months, Im increasingly confident that is true.. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? The House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? 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. Please reload the page and try again. The managers who will receive the raises include division heads at state agencies, as well as commissioners and deputy commissioners. The full General Assembly is expected to vote on it as early as this week. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. As a What tax reform proposals will there be? Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! His predecessor, Robert J. Rinker, co-chaired a labor-management committee that addressed some of the same issues now under review. 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 agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. After leaving IBM, he became chief executive officer of Core Informatics, a software startup that Hartford Business Journal included in its 2017 list of best places to work in Connecticut. Gov. Gov. The best long-run thing for the state pension system is to have inflation just at or above 2%. 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. Connecticut holds $3.1 billion in its rainy day fund, equal to 15% of annual operating costs the maximum allowed by law. Youll notice when you look around here, there is no paper. The agreement calls for 2.5 percent general wage increases and step increases retroactive to July 1, 2022. The deal is now final since the state Senate and House approved it. Fazio said that it reflects the pull unions have on state government and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. April 23, 2023 . 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. 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. 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. The increases, part of a four-year package negotiated by Gov. In the past, similar planned changes to retirement benefits have triggered waves of retirements before the changes take place, the OLR report states. While annual retirements usually range from 2,000 to 2,500 per calendar year, more than 3,400 state employees have either retired or filed their written intentions to do so between January and March 31, 2022, alone. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. Required fields are marked *. Union members have engaged in an all-out campaign of organizing and mobilizing to make our pay a priority for state leaders. Some changes already have come, pushed by Nicholas Hermes, a West Point grad who is the statewide human resources director at DAS, hired in 2016. In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and an additional $1,000 bonus in mid-July. For retirees who receive their COLAs in January, the trend was more in their favor with three years of inflation increases topping 2 percent. For the average pensioner, receiving $39,887 per year, the COLA increase would amount to an annual increase of $1,435.92. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? 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If youre going to get a bonus, youve got to stick around with us for a while, said Rep. Jay Case, R-Winsted. Both are signs of things to come in state government or more precisely, things to disappear. Social Security has announced that they will be granting a cost of living increase of 8.7% for 2023. 13 Weeks . Note: the above image is a chart for the CPI-U, not the CPI-W. State retirees receive minimum 2 percent COLAs per year regardless of the inflation rate and a maximum of 6 percent or 7.5 percent, depending on their retirement tier. Theres no way to take on the legacy of mass incarceration other than to undo it, one step at a time. 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. They would then get the same increase on July 1, 2022 and again on July 1, 2023. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. Private-sector employees can only dream of having that, said Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol. State employee unions offered concessions in 2009, 2011 and 2017. 1 Week Subscription - $2.99 / 7 Days. Its a matter of whether we can afford it.. The BCG study was supposed to facilitate a third approach. 0:36. Geballe said the new administrations job is to support, broaden and accelerate those changes. 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. And while some criticized the bonuses, the Hamden lawmaker and others say they would save the state money over the long haul. 1 Killed, Child Critically Injured In Major Highway Crash: CT News, Meteorologist Leaves TV News To Take Over Family Business: CT News, 3 Soldiers Killed After 2 U.S. Army Helicopters Crash In Alaska. Consistently, studies show that the compensation of Connecticut state employees exceeds average private sector compensation by one of the highest margins of the 50 states. Register to attend in-person | Register to attend virtually. That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. Ned Lamont's administration and a coalition of .