Social Security has announced that they will be granting a cost of living increase of 8.7% for 2023. "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. Retired state employees now get annual cost-of-living adjustments: a minimum of 2 percent and a maximum of 7 percent, depending on inflation. Administrations come and go, taking with them their priorities. It includes 2.5% raises for four straight years that would be retroactive to July 1, 2021. 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 Democrat-controlled House voted 96-52 to approve the contracts, after a four-hour debate during which Republicans insisted the compensation far outstrips what private-sector workers are receiving, or what taxpayers can afford. functions now spread across agencies, just as Raymond recently struck a five-year deal with Microsoft that replaces a dozen separate agency agreements. About 1,700 management-level state employees will receive pay raises, an effort by Gov. Connecticut Public Radio | One lump sum payment retroactive to 2021 with full-time employees receiving $2,500 and part-time employees receiving a prorated amount $1,000 lump sum payment effective fiscal 2023 and prorated for part-time employees CT State Employees Get Scheduled Raise Amid Economic Turmoil This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members I think were at a time where change is coming, whether people like it or not. Connecticut holds $3.1 billion in its rainy day fund, equal to 15% of annual operating costs the maximum allowed by law. Osten said the raises reflect the valuable work state employees provide daily, and particularly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Best Sales Performance Management Software Company The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. He said DAS has capable managers pushing for change, such as Hermes and the states chief information officer, Mark Raymond. With only 41 weeks remaining to replace retiring employees, the Lamont administration is fast approaching a severe manpower crisis. Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. The contracts, which Gov. 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. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats casting ballots for the deal and only one Republican, Thomas Delnicki of South Windsor, supporting it. Efficiency is easier in concept than in actual practice. By 2020, the state paid $2.2 billion to 55,348 retirees. The formula used took 60% of the increase in the Consumer Price Index ( CPI-W) up to 6% and . 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. state of ct employee step increase 2022; state of ct employee step increase 2022. Union members have engaged in an all-out campaign of organizing and mobilizing to make our pay a priority for state leaders. Its also imperative that we do so. Now shes asking for help herself, One musician remembers what it was like to tour the world with singer and activist Harry Belafonte, Connecticut COVID data: Your town's infection rate, hospitalizations & vaccinations, Tracking health threats, one sewage sample at a time, COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. The new raises are intended to give greater confidence to these managers that they will have consistent treatment with the union employees. Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. More than 30 state employee bargaining units have ratified contracts that would provide more than 40,000 workers with $3,500 in bonuses by July, along with three years of raises, the State. 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. Union leaders say the workforce is ready, if wary. 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. Attracting people to fill managerial roles will become even more important as the state prepares for a coming wave of employees retiring next year. 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. Gov. State employee unions offered concessions in 2009, 2011 and 2017. 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. 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. How did state higher education system get into this financial mess Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are The proposed contract is generous. As many as 13,000 state employees will be eligible for retirement by July 2022, according to the state Comptroller's office. 4.28.23 We are LIVE with our 11 am/CT. 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. 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! 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. The program also will allow the state to abandon plans for a costly upgrade to its email system. We have three years to plan for that, Geballe said. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? The states robust, short-term fiscal position is a sugar high that will pass when the federal stimulus money goes away, ODea said. Example: Tier I Benefit Estimator: The following benefit Estimator provides estimates of the Plan B Reduction: (Tier I benefit Estimator) Cost of Living Adjustment. Thirty percent intend to leave the state upon retirement. The contract is not a done deal. I dont believe, fundamentally, that this agreement is fair at all.. Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. For the average pensioner, receiving $39,887 per year, the COLA increase would amount to an annual increase of $1,435.92. Salary Increase - ct In hiring the 44-year-old Geballe, the governor said he was bringing a fresh approach to a state government badly in need of modernization. At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Glidden is now engaged with the administration on the possibility of some state government professionals teleworking. 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. Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Tier I Benefit Calculation This is a carousel. The non-unionized managers will receive a one-time bonus of $2,000 and 7.5% in wage increases, including a 3.5% cost-of-living increase and up to 4% annual increments. Hazard or pandemic pay wasnt part of the negotiations, but will be resolved as part of another agreement, Lamont said. That helps focus peoples minds and increase their willingness to change and to take risks. 2023 The Conneticut News Project. Why? The best long-run thing for the state pension system is to have inflation just at or above 2%. Published April 18, 2022 at 3:52 PM EDT. 'Change is coming' for Connecticut state employees Those employed on July 15, 2022 would get a $1,000 bonus if the agreement is approved. ALERT: Tell lawmakers to vote NO on the TCI Gas Tax Loophole that forces CT residents to pay unlimited energy taxes! All Rights Reserved. Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees Opinion: Gov. The Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the package will cost the state $1.87 billion over four years. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. 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. "I come out of the private sector. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2015 and 2020 there was only one year 2018 during which the CPI-W for July was above 2 percent. 0:36. 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. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you publish it. Connecticuts pension COLAs, however, are set for a change one year from now prompting concerns over a potential surge in state employee retirements. CT Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers Full legislature expected to vote before May 4 by Keith M. Phaneuf April 18, 2022 @ 1:08 pm Rob Baril, the president of SEIU 1199,. The increases, part of a four-year package negotiated by Gov. November 3, 2021 @ So, more outsourcing would compound the squeeze on the nonprofits, either rendering their condition even more precarious or necessitating a significant increase in their reimbursement rates. Geballe said the administration has a vision of where to go with technology, primarily by offering consumers and businesses a digital portal to state government. That marked a 9 percent increase from the previous year, which was the largest yearover-year change since at least 2014-2015, according to a CT Insider analysis of data from the . For retirements prior to June 30, 2022, these cumulative raises will be paid each year on either January 1st or July 1st depending on your date of retirement (DOR). "I've got to recruit and keep them in order to keep our government going, he said. in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Were hemorrhaging workers right now, DAgostino said. The House of Representatives approved a four-year package of raises Thursday that includes $3,500 in bonuses later this spring and summer for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. CT State Employees Get Scheduled Raise Amid Economic Turmoil State employees covered by unions got a 3.5 percent pay raise and two percent step increase as the state looks at massive budget deficits. Corporate Support: Advertising & Sponsorship, saves the state about $150 million over the next decade. CT Lawmakers Approve Raises, Bonuses For State Employees In 2015, Connecticut paid $1.7 billion to 49,111 retirees, according to the Comptroller's Open Pension website. Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! Opinion: Gov. Lamont will give big fat raises to state workers Gusty winds add new twist to brush fires in CT, officials say, What's next for the nuclear waste that's been in CT for 50 years, Building emissions are a key climate change contributor in CT, After decades in unmarked grave, CT homicide victim put to rest. 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. DAS is now working to centralize and streamline H.R. But two union leaders say they see the states expectations of a significant retirement wave as well-founded. Fazio said it reflects the pull unions have on state government, and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Connecticut state workers to get $3,500 in bonuses under tentative deal 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. We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. 4:04 pm. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. 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. Let us be clear. Ned Lamont previously touted. Both are signs of things to come in state government or more precisely, things to disappear. 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. state of ct employee step increase 2022 - greeninginc.com 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 []. Several Republican lawmakers decried the deal and said it would exacerbate Connecticuts fiscal woes. Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled. The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. When you do good work, you get a bonus, said Lamont. How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements? Despite Lamonts claims to the contrary, it is highly likely that he will award state employees significant future wage increases as well as a generous modification of cost-of-living adjustments to their pensions after their retirement. Geballe is commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, the blandly named agency at the heart of the state bureaucracy. Gov. The $2,000 payment will only be available to employees who were hired or appointed before June 30, 2018. Geballe said the new administrations job is to support, broaden and accelerate those changes. McCaw said some of the prior management positions that are now unionized include the assistant attorney general, state police captains and lieutenants, supervisors with the Department of Children and Families, parole managers and deputy wardens. She noted that West Virginia recently granted state employees a 5% raise, while Arizona bumped pay for its correction officers by 20% and for workers in many other departments by 10%. But we have a bonus that starts after July 1. 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. With this agreement, we were able to achieve those goals in a realistic way that does not imperil our future prospects and honors the great service that has and will continue to benefit our residents, Lamont said in a statement. Theres no way to take on the legacy of mass incarceration other than to undo it, one step at a time. building a betterand more civilConnecticut to live, work, and play. Amazon and others in the private sector have made it very easy to envision what that future could look like, if you think about online shopping or online bank services, Geballe said. 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. House Approves $1.9B State Employee Raises, Bonuses Deal We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. Senate approves raises, bonuses for Conn. state workers - WTNH.com 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. Connecticut state employees on track for $353 million raise as other Geballe said he just renewed his registration on-line. Were losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where its easier to make a living. Thats something we certainly need to work on here.. Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers Weve seen clerical workers go from a high of almost 9,000 to 4,000.. 2016 CT.gov | Connecticut's Official State Website, regular The 2022 State Holiday and Check Dates calendar for State Employees. He could outsource functions, but the state already pays outside providers an enormous amount about $1.4 billion annually to nonprofits. They are our people, who we count on each day to make us safe, she said. 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.. 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. It will slow cost-of-living adjustments for all new retirees and raise health costs for a few, primarily high earners. Required fields are marked *. Currently, the only way to advance in most agencies is for someone to retire, leaving a specific job open.