· One of the local TV stations is airing a misleading report about state government hiring practices. Here are the facts:
· Governor
Ritter has provided strong, thoughtful and responsible leadership,
keeping Colorado’s budget balanced, without debt, during the worst
economy since the Great Depression. He has made tough cuts and is
making government leaner.
· From
Oct. 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, Governor Ritter imposed a hiring freeze
for executive branch positions under his purview because of declining
revenues due to the global recession.
· The
state payroll on 10/1/08 was 26,050 employees. On 6/30/09 when the
hiring freeze ended, the payroll was 26,040, and today: 25,683, a
decrease of nearly 370 employees from a year ago. Governor Ritter also
has announced plans to eliminate another 300 positions.
· The
hiring freeze worked. We saved taxpayers more than $11 million, left
nearly 465 employee and contract positions vacant, and today’s
workforce is smaller than it was a year ago.
· It’s
impossible to ever realize a 100 percent “freeze” in an organization
like state government, especially where demand for services is rising
and when we must meet legal and public safety requirements. We must:
o Hire corrections workers to maintain order and safety in our prisons.
o Hire state troopers to patrol our highways and keep motorists safe.
o Hire
caregivers to tend to veterans, the elderly and those with
developmental disabilities and mental illnesses in state facilities.
· Since last fall, we’ve taken numerous steps to reduce personnel costs, each step more aggressive than the next:
o Hiring freeze
o No pay increases for state employees in FY09-10 and 10-11
o Eight unpaid furlough days in FY09-10
o Elimination of 300 positions
· These
steps are all being taken while demands for service are increasing –
Medicaid caseloads will be up 45 percent in FY10-11 compared to three
years ago and unemployment caseloads are up more than 200 percent from
last year – and while we are implementing the many complex requirements
of the Recovery Act.
· Nor
did we ever try to pretend there would be zero hiring. We were very
open (including posting information on the state website) about
exemptions and waivers. For instance, departments could still hire
people if the position:
o Had direct daily contact with the public in a position of health and/or safety.
o Was federally funded, or funded by gifts, grants and donations.
o Was being filled as a result of exercising retention rights in a layoff situation.
o Was an intradepartmental transfer with no fiscal impact.
