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.. There are nine classifications for custodians, 12 for assistant attorneys general, and a whopping 221 for program directors. Ned Lamont's administration and a coalition of . CT Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. The deal works out to about $40,000 in raises per state employee over four years, Fazio said, which works out to about $1,300 per Connecticut household. Lamont joined others to announce the deployment FEMAs new COVID-19 mobile vaccination unit, which is set up and running this week in the zoos parking lot. Were not attracting innovation and industry. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. Get CT Mirror briefings with enterprise reporting, investigations and more in your inbox daily. Why? 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 Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticuts government work for its residents. Critics say the deal is too generous and could lead to future tax hikes. The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the contract will cost the state $1.87 billion over three years. How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements? Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Private-sector employees can only dream of having that, said Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol. But the journey to get from here to there, and the ordering of initiatives, is very complex to think about.. In an effort to mitigate the potential loss of thousands of state employees, Gov. Fazio said it reflects the pull unions have on state government, and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Changes to state employee retirement benefits will go into effect in July of 2022 Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. Nothing stands in the way of the ever-increasing generosity of state employee compensation. The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition represents 35 different bargaining units and more than 40,000 state employees. Republicans countered Friday that the raises and bonuses far outstrip what households in the private sector are receiving. Ned Lamont contracted with the Boston Consulting Group for a report of how to increase state government efficiency. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. will call the "2022 Changes") go into effect as of July 1, 2022(the "Effective Date"). ALERT: Tell lawmakers to vote NO on the TCI Gas Tax Loophole that forces CT residents to pay unlimited energy taxes! Raising minimum salary levels between 10% to 25% will give many frontline HHSC employees a reprieve from dire financial straits caused by the Texas Legislature's failure to provide across-the-board pay raises to state . Ned Lamont speaks at a news conference at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, in Bridgeport, Conn. March 29, 2021. 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 Lamont administration and SEBAC argue the deal is actually good for taxpayers, because an arbitrator would likely award workers even bigger raises. Note: the above image is a chart for the CPI-U, not the CPI-W. "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.". Creative Commons. State employee unions offered concessions in 2009, 2011 and 2017. 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. It seems that JavaScript is not working in your browser. Josh Geballe, the commissioner of administrative services. 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. The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. Greenwich resident Red Jahncke is president of The Townsend Group International, a business consultancy in Connecticut, and a freelance columnist published in national and Connecticut newspapers. Please reload the page and try again. BCG documented that the sclerotic state bureaucracy takes an average of 33 weeks to hire a new employee. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. CONNECTICUT The state Senate gave final approval to the raise and bonus package for state employees. The increases, part of a four-year package negotiated by Gov. State law calls for equity in salary adjustments between union and non-union employees. 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 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 . Published April 18, 2022 at 3:52 PM EDT. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? Ned Lamont previously touted the agreement as a way to retain state employees amid a wave of potential retirements. 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. Lamont says the bonuses are crucial to retain state employees, who are retiring in larger-than-normal numbers this spring. This final increase may pose concerns for small businesses and non-profit organizations operating in the state. Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! The states robust, short-term fiscal position is a sugar high that will pass when the federal stimulus money goes away, ODea said. April 23, 2023 . During that time Connecticuts average pension payment increased 15 percent from $34.589 in 2015 to $39,887 in 2020. 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Anniversary Date (AI Date) Change for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2271), Changes Anniversary Date from July 1 to January 1 for employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, DAS General Letter 193 - Anniversary Date (AI Date) for Classes Covered by Collective Bargaining, Procedures for establishing anniversary dates for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, Salary Increase - Cost of Living (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2090), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2014 to employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ-EX & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) & Annual Increase (AI) for Associate Attorney Generals (E-Item 2002), Authorizes a 3% Cost of Living Increase and a 3% Annual Increment not to exceed the maximum of the salary grade for Associate Attorney Generals, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 1935), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2013 to employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ-EX & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 1942), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2013 to specific titles assigned to the EX pay plan, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2091), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2014 for certain employees assigned to the EX pay plan, Salary Increase and Pay Plan Adjustments for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2147), Authorizes a Certain Percentage salary adjustment based upon most recent pay increase for certain employees assigned to the EX pay plan, adjusts the EX pay plan and effective January 1, 2016 pay increases for EX mirrors MP, Salary Increase Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non Represented Employees E Item 2664, Authorizes 3.5% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2019 to employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ-EX & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, Salary Increase Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2665), Authorizes 3.5% Cost of Living Adjustment to certain employees who are assigned to Bargaining Unit 01 effective July 1, 2019, Number one: What if the state developed a way for citizens to be known across agencies by the end of 2022?. 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. 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 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.. That will be followed by 2.5 percent raises on July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. Are more state employees retiring than usual? state of ct employee step increase 2022; state of ct employee step increase 2022. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Ned Lamont in Darien earlier this month. The alternatives are suboptimal. An arbitrator had already awarded some unions a 3% general wage hike for 2021-22 before Lamont and labor negotiators settled on a smaller cost-of-living bump and bonuses. It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. The state is so intractable about its longterm bureaucratic practices. font size, Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations. 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. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. 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. He is one of the mid-career, private-sector executives to join the administration of Gov. 4.28.23 We are LIVE with our 11 am/CT. Watching is one of those who spoke against it, Sen. Craig Miner. That sum hasnt changed much in two decades. The minimum 2 percent COLA also means that during years in which inflation was low, they still got a boost over the inflation rate. Register to attend in-person | Register to attend virtually. 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. 0:04. 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 package was previously approved by the House. The package was previously approved by the House. Your email address will not be published. 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. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. 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. Get CT Mirror emails in your inbox daily. Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. Virtually everyone in the state knows the situation and feels it is unfair. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. 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. What can be done to lower home heating bills? ThanKs Vin, Lyle Scruggs As a Ned Lamont, a cable-television entrepreneur who took office on January 9 and hired Geballe two weeks later. The one thing we know about Ned Lamont or any Democrat, for that matter is that he will not fight the unions. The plan, negotiated by Gov. It will slow cost-of-living adjustments for all new retirees and raise health costs for a few, primarily high earners. Ned Lamont believes it will keep critical state workers on the job. And that total is expected to grow considerably between now and July 1. Gov. CT Saw Jobs Lost in December, Revised Private Sector Gains from 3,300 to 300, Evictions remain significantly down in Bridgeport, Hartford after end of eviction moratorium, Film Tax Credit Expansion Receives Criticism Across the Aisle, Its Christmas Time for the General Assembly but Not Everyone is Happy, UConn Says New Freedom of Expression Bill Not Necessary, Testimony in Opposition of HB 6929 Submitted by Bryce Chinault, Director of External Affairs, Connecticuts Voting Tabulators are Unreliable and Unserviceable, Over 200,000 people have moved out of Connecticut since 2010, as state economy declined, Dont Be Mean to Government Officials or Theyll Take Free Speech Away, Public Sector Job Growth Beats Out Private Sector In July. Breaking from the status quo is very hard I think for people generally, but particularly in government, where you dont have competition the same way you do in the private sector, where if you dont change, if you dont innovate, if you dont find new ways to add value, eventually you go out of business and everybody loses their job. "I think we're in great shape. 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. By the latest estimates of the comptroller's 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 . Gov. Thats a big risk, but its also an amazing opportunity to reinvent how we do things, to bring in technology to automate a lot of the manual processes that can be more efficiently done by software today.. Attracting people to fill managerial roles will become even more important as the state prepares for a coming wave of employees retiring next year. 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! 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. Geballe said the new administrations job is to support, broaden and accelerate those changes. Those employed on July 15, 2022 would get a $1,000 bonus if the agreement is approved. Retired Connecticut state employees will see a substantial bump to their pension payments as a result of increasing economic inflation. Marc E. Fitch is the author of several books and novels including Shmexperts: How Power Politics and Ideology are Disguised as Science and Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs and Bigfoot. Hed also like to talk about a classification system that is flexible and provides a career ladder. The new raises are intended to give greater confidence to these managers that they will have consistent treatment with the union employees. The raises would cost the town about a half . 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. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. And Lamont reported this week that the current fiscal years budget is projected to close on June 30 with an unprecedented $3.95 billion surplus, equal to nearly 20% of entire General Fund. Your email address will not be published. The agreement calls for 2.5 percent general wage increases and step increases retroactive to July 1, 2022. Glidden is now engaged with the administration on the possibility of some state government professionals teleworking. 0:36. They would then get the same increase on July 1, 2022 and again on July 1, 2023. But more than that, this is a necessary contract so that we can hold onto the best and brightest., This contract gives the state flexibility when hiring the most high-need jobs, recognizes the incredible institutional knowledge on our team, and the work state employees have done throughout the pandemic, said Lamont spokeswoman Lora Rae Anderson. 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. This proposed contract is a raw deal for the working people of this state, Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich) said. What tax reform proposals will there be? Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. 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. With the benefit of five and a half months, Im increasingly confident that is true.. Lamont said the state has to live within its means, but state employees did extraordinary work during the worst of the pandemic and inflation has increased costs. CONNECTICUT State officials announced the tentative state employee union bargaining agreement, which calls for multiple years of raises and bonus payments. Were working really hard to digitize everything we do.. 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. As a 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 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. Union leaders say the workforce is ready, if wary. The board has voted to approve the following cost of living increase for January 2023. Ideal timing for the announcement would be between Christmas and the New Year. 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 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. 90% of our revenue is contributed. Keith has spent most of his 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticuts transportation and social services networks. In 2015, Connecticut paid $1.7 billion to 49,111 retirees, according to the Comptroller's Open Pension website. The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . Photos: Iconic Landmarks To Visit Across CT. The contract is not a done deal. 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 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. Connecticuts chief administrative officer keeps a spotless desk. 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. December 30, 2021 @ Lamont could rehire retired workers as independent contractors, but then he would be paying those fees as well as funding retirement benefits. 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. 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. Employees who retire after that date will get less lucrative retirement benefits. 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. 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. As many as 13,000 state employees will be eligible for retirement by July 2022, according to the state Comptroller's office. I think were at a time where change is coming, whether people like it or not. 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. State and union officials are expected to meet again in the fourth year to negotiate wages.
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