First, Make Government Accountable
Agenda for 2012
State's To-Do
List Redefine the relationship with employees. The state budget is not a great
sow.
January 01, 2012 By the Hartford Courant
This is the first of a series
on what the state should do in 2012.
A democratically elected government must be accountable
to the people it serves. It must be organized to provide necessary services
efficiently and economically. It must avoid waste and duplication.
In
2012, The Courant's editorial board will make accountability in government a
top priority, along with fair play in Connecticut
politics and job creation in the state.
The need for accountability was brought home in December
with the allegation that at least two dozen state employees had fraudulently
obtained emergency food assistance earmarked for lower-income people who
suffered losses in Tropical Storm Irene.
If true, this is outright fraud. The workers who did it
should lose their jobs and face criminal charges.
Milking The State
To be sure, most state employees are honest and
hardworking. But that this many workers attempted so brazen a theft suggests a
get-what-you-can attitude may be gaining a toehold in the state workforce.
The state budget is not a great sow, to be milked by the
piglets who can get close to the teats.
Difficult economic times will continue. In June, Moody's
Investors Service warned the state that its credit rating could be downgraded,
citing "depleted reserves with slim prospects for near-term
replenishment," along with a poorly funded pension, high fixed costs and
rich retirement benefits. The state employee pension fund is funded at 44
percent, well below the 80 percent analysts say is a healthy benchmark.
It thus may be time to redefine the relationship between
the state and its workforce. Workers should receive salary and benefits
comparable to — not wildly in excess of — wages and benefits in the private
sector.
One place to start making public benefits affordable
would be to eliminate pension padding, the practice among certain employees of
working a lot of overtime in their final years to increase their pensions,
often with the cooperation of agency management.
As The Courant's Jon Lender reported, plentiful overtime
for the state police meant 397 of Connecticut's
1,100 or so troopers were paid at least $100,000 last year, with five sergeants
making more than $200,000. One reason the state cops get so much overtime is
that scores of uniformed troopers are doing jobs in headquarters that could be
done by civilians.
The result will be a lot of employees who will retire
with pensions that are equal to or in some cases greater than their working
salaries. This is crazy. The state cannot afford it.
It Doesn't Stop At Pensions
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy made some
progress in limiting these excesses, mostly for new employees, in a concession
deal with state employees last summer. He has ordered department heads to limit
overtime.
http://articles.courant.com/2012-01-01/news/hc-ed-accountability-in-government.-20120101_1_pension-padding-state-employees-state-cops