will ct state employees get a raise in 2022
Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive and with your help, it will be. Ned Lamont is negotiating a new wage contract with the State Employees Bargaining Alliance Coalition. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. If youre going to get a bonus, youve got to stick around with us for a while, said Rep. Jay Case, R-Winsted. 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. 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. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. "Often they work in dorms where there are one or two officers to keep peace among 100 of more inmates, said Sean Howard, a corrections officer at Cheshire Correctional Institution. 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. 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 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. 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. Gov. 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.. And that was before surging state income and business tax receipts pushed this fiscal years surplus from $2.7 billion to $4 billion. Does not automatically renew. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. 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. There is ample evidence that this is a fair contract, a reasonable contract, an affordable contract, she said of Connecticuts wage hikes. April 23, 2023 . 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. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. And that total is expected to grow considerably between now and July 1. 13 Weeks . The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. Government bureaucracies are notoriously resistant to change, layered with the accretion of rules, processes, union contracts, all contributing to a workplace culture. But we have a bonus that starts after July 1. 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 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. 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. Weve already seen the changing workforce, Luciano said. DARRELL HACKETT Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Critics say the deal is too generous and could lead to future tax hikes. Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! 1 week of full access. 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. 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. 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. The package was previously approved by the House. Employees would also get a $2,500 bonus if they are employed as of March 31, 2022, and a $1,000 if they are employed July 1, 2022. 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? 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. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. DAS is now working to centralize and streamline H.R. Photos: Iconic Landmarks To Visit Across CT. Not this weeks data release showing that the median American household saw its income fall 2.9 percent last year while Connecticut state employees got a 5.5 percent wage increase. They would then get the same increase on July 1, 2022 and again on July 1, 2023. Inevitably, it will be highly unpopular, so the announcement will be buried as deeply as possible and spun like a top by Lamonts spokespeople. The Lamont administration and SEBAC argue the deal is actually good for taxpayers, because an arbitrator would likely award workers even bigger raises. 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. Bonuses are prorated for part-time employees. Outside his 15th-floor office in a downtown Hartford complex is a big empty space once occupied by file cabinets. But Gov. There are also new bonuses: $2,500 next month and an extra $1,000 in mid-July. As a federal EPA employee recently told the Washingtonian in a piece about the Trump administration, I fully intend to outlast these people.. Photos: Iconic Landmarks To Visit Across CT. Employees who retire after that date will get less lucrative retirement benefits. 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Register to attend in-person | Register to attend virtually. All Rights Reserved. Manager salaries have not kept up with union salaries so in a lot of cases you have mangers that are earning less than the employees reporting into them, said Melissa McCaw, the states budget director. Ned Lamont speaks at a news conference at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, in Bridgeport, Conn. March 29, 2021. Your email address will not be published. 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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. Part of the 2017 SEBAC Agreement between the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition and Gov. The year over year increases drive up the amount paid out by Connecticuts severely underfunded State Employee Retirement System. A wave of state employee retirements is expected in the coming months, resulting in an "unprecedented" loss of knowledge and skills, some officials say. Fazio said it reflects the pull unions have on state government, and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Number one: What if the state developed a way for citizens to be known across agencies by the end of 2022?. 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. House and Senate negotiators expressed optimism Monday as they began trading budget proposals, despite gaps in spending over issues such as public schools, land preservation and tourism marketing. "I'm very concerned this is unsustainable, opponent Kevin Maloney told lawmakers at a public hearing Monday. The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the contract will cost the state $1.87 billion over three years. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. The full General Assembly is expected to vote on it as early as this week. The raises do not apply to employees in the legislative and judicial branches or higher education. 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. 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.. I dont believe, fundamentally, that this agreement is fair at all.. 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. Hartford lawyer Daniel Livingston, chief negotiator for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, or SEBAC, estimated that going with one-time bonuses and a smaller 2.5% annual cost-of-living raise saves the state about $150 million over the next decade. Some reflected frustrations by the public in dealing with state agencies, as well as employees knowing what is happening elsewhere in government. 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 best long-run thing for the state pension system is to have inflation just at or above 2%. I would say that largely we havent seen that partnership happen, but we continue to have the door wide open, Glidden said. 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. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. But that surge followed a nearly decade-long stretch in which state tax receipts from the same source badly underperformed. 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. 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. 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 legislature's Appropriations Committee endorsed significant raises and $3,500 in bonuses Monday for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Its also imperative that we do so. 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. It was covered recently in goals and ideas tossed around in a brainstorming exercise, then numbered as priorities. 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. 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. 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. [your comment section will not enable me to type this in lower case] stop with the money illusion. 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. 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 [nonprofit] industry pegs the inflationary loss its taking on these payments at $460 million per year, according to the CT Mirror. Get CT Mirror emails in your inbox daily. Both are signs of things to come in state government or more precisely, things to disappear. 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. 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 deal is now final since the state Senate and House approved it. Lamont could rehire retired workers as independent contractors, but then he would be paying those fees as well as funding retirement benefits. If you have employees affected by the . Marc has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Western Connecticut State University. Nothing stands in the way of the ever-increasing generosity of state employee compensation. What tax reform proposals will there be? This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members Tier II is a non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan for most members. We have three years to plan for that, Geballe said. 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. Geballe is commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, the blandly named agency at the heart of the state bureaucracy. Social Security has announced that they will be granting a cost of living increase of 8.7% for 2023. Good question Hope I cant find the answer either. The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticuts government work for its residents. The state also faces a potential wave of retirements. The comptrollers office cautions that some those eligible to retire will not yet have earned full retirement benefits, giving some an incentive to stay. (Sorry for the caps, wont let me shift), Hope McKiernan Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. December 30, 2021 @ 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. 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. More than 3,400 state employees have retired or have filed written intention to retire this year, but that number is expected to increase before July 1. 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. 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. 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 House, where Democrats also hold a majority, approved the package 96-52 on Thursday. Private-sector employees can only dream of having that, said Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol. "I come out of the private sector. This is a carousel. 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. Republicans countered Friday that the raises and bonuses far outstrip what households in the private sector are receiving. 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. Lamont, who said that in June 2020 when asked about the pay raise to take effect just days later on July 1. Watching is one of those who spoke against it, Sen. Craig Miner. In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and an additional $1,000 bonus in mid-July. October 25, 2021 @ In the prison system, there are separate classifications for supervisors of correctional industries, auto mechanics, data entry, printing, clothing, and general industries. 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 []. 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. 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. Gov. Julia Bergman is a former reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. "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 managers who will receive the raises include division heads at state agencies, as well as commissioners and deputy commissioners.
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