The state work force will be trimmed by more than 500 workers in the upcoming fiscal year as the result of a deal between the Markell administration and House Republicans.
House Minority Leader Richard Cathcart (R-Middletown) and House Minority Whip Dan Short (R-Seaford) had earlier called for Gov. Markell to make good on his pledge to reduce the size of state government.
“The governor had said he favors a more efficient government, but he had avoided setting any goal,” Rep. Cathcart said. “On behalf of our caucus, we suggested the administration commit to reducing the state work force through attrition by at least 600 jobs in the upcoming fiscal year. The target that the administration agreed to is pretty close to what we proposed.”
Under the agreement, the administration made a commitment to reduce the state payroll by $13.7 million in the budget that starts July 1st. “That should translate to between 500 and 600 vacant positions that will not be filled,” Rep. D. Short said.
Rep. D. Short added that the charm of the plan is that no current state worker will lose his of her job as a result of the plan. “This proposal relies entirely on positions that are vacated voluntarily,” he said.
According to the State Pension Office, between 1,600 and 2,400 workers leave state employment though retirement, death or other means each year. Rep. Cathcart said the State Controller General’s Office estimates only about 60 percent of the vacated jobs are tied to providing essential services. “Obviously, we need to replace retiring teachers, police and other vital occupations,” Rep. Cathcart said. “That still leaves at least 640 positions that are being vacated annually that could potentially be eliminated, without impacting the things that government needs to do.”
Rep. Dan Short said Sussex County has already taken a similar approach, instituting a targeted early retirement option and reshuffling the remaining workers to continue providing needed services.
“As of July 1st, they’ll have trimmed their work force by six percent,” Rep. D. Short said. “They realized that with real estate transactions down, they were overstaffed in some agencies that deal with home and land sales, but understaffed elsewhere. They worked with these people to help them retain their employment by retraining and shifting to more vital county positions. If they can do it, we can do it. It’s just a matter of scale and dedication.”
The state currently has approximately 31,500 people on the payroll, including 13,500 public education employees. Reducing the work force by 500 workers in FY 2010 would constitute a cut of about 1.6 percent.
Rep. Cathcart said he’d like for this process to continue in FY 2011 and beyond, noting that a performance audit of state agencies initiated by the governor at the start of the year should help facilitate the future drawdown of state positions.
“The state work force has grown by 4,000 positions over the last nine years,” Rep. Cathcart said. “By responsibly tracking and assessing vacant positions, and facilitating a fluid transition of employees from non-vital jobs to areas of need, I’m confident further reductions via attrition can be made in the future.”
“Our position has not changed since we issued a letter to the governor in May suggesting a variety of cost-cutting proposals,” Rep. Cathcart said. “We want to improve efficiency of state government for the benefit of both taxpayers and state employees. This reduction is a positive step in the right direction.”
STATEWIDE —
