2009-10 Enacted Budget Gap-closing Plan – Workforce

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Workforce Initiatives

Governor Paterson’s Executive Budget proposed spending reductions in every area of state government to address an unprecedented fiscal crisis. He said that closing the historic state budget gap would require shared sacrifice from all New Yorkers.  To achieve needed savings from state agency operations, he proposed a number of labor concessions from the state workforce, including eliminating a three percent salary increase and delaying five days worth of pay until the fiscal crisis has ended. These actions would have produced savings of $481 million over two years.

Because state public employee unions have been unwilling to accept concessions, Governor Paterson has ordered a Workforce Reduction Plan of 8,690 positions. Together with the rescission of a scheduled salary increase for non-unionized employees, this workforce reduction plan will achieve equivalent savings of $481 million, which are necessary to ensure a balanced budget.

Gap-closing Actions

• Workforce Reduction Plans and M/C Salary Action. In the absence of workforce savings through the labor concessions proposed in the Executive Budget, balancing the 2009-10 State Operations Budget requires savings through reductions in the workforce. Agencies have been provided with personal service and workforce savings targets. These reductions, totaling approximately 8,690 positions, will be accomplished through attrition and layoffs, as well as through continuation of the hiring freeze. Additionally, the Governor, as well as the Comptroller and Attorney General, have withheld salary increases, performance advances, and other compensation increases for employees designated as Management/Confidential, scheduled for April 1, 2009. (2009-10 Savings: $163 million; 2010-11 Savings: $318 million)
• Statewide Fringe Savings. Various workforce actions in the enacted budget will achieve fringe benefit savings. (2009-10 Savings: $7 million; 2010-11 Savings: $10 million)
• Revocation of 2008-09 Vacation Exchange Program. The vacation exchange program, a program which allows Management/Confidential employees to exchange limited amounts of unused vacation time for cash payments, was rescinded for 2008-09 – an action which was taken administratively. (2008-09 Savings: $5 million; 2009-10 Savings: $0)