Our Opinion: Panel on state employee salaries needs more time

News Tribune editorial

Monday, December 5, 2011

A legislative committee exploring state salaries has entered a labyrinth.

“This is the most complicated, crazy pay system I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City and a committee member. “Private sector people look at these things and say, ‘This is unbelievable.’”

The Joint Interim Committee on State Employee Wages is navigating the maze successfully, so far.

The group’s charge is to advance recommendations to lift Missouri’s state employee salaries from the lowest rung, in comparison with other states.

The prolonged economic downturn does not allow Missouri to raise employee pay in a single, sweeping move.

Instead, it must be done incrementally.

As an initial step, panel members agreed to endorse Gov. Jay Nixon’s proposed 2 percent, across-the-board pay increase in the next budget year, which begins July 1.

The endorsement, however, does not constitute a long-term plan.

Looking ahead, the committee is studying what other states have done. The investigation has prompted some panel members to suggest adopting the Kansas model after conferring with officials in our neighboring state.

The group also confronts a dilemma — whether to ask the Legislature to commit money to hire a consultant to study the issue.

Spending money to study salaries rather than improve salaries makes some committee members justifiably uncomfortable.

Kehoe concedes, however, “when you have this complicated a program, you, unfortunately, sometimes need an outside source and pair of eyes that’s an expert, to look at it.”

Meanwhile, the clock is running. The interim panel faces a deadline at the end of the month to submit its report and recommendations.

We believe the issue is too complicated to be addressed in the 30-day time frame. Even if a consultant is hired — which we believe is premature — the panel risks an incomplete, rush job.

We prefer Kehoe’s suggestion that the interim committee seek more permanent status.

Missouri’s state employee salaries did not descend to last place among the 50 states in a month.

More than 30 days will be required to chart a process to lead state workers out of this abyss.

More like this story

JCLifer 1 year, 6 months ago

What's up with the delay? Over two months ago there was no hurry for the committee to meet because they had all the information they needed to fix it, according to Bernskoetter.

"Sen. (Mike) Kehoe and I met with some of the people from the Office of Administration the other day, and they acted like they had a lot of the information already,” Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, said. “So, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape."

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 6 months ago

The committee members are being drawn into a complexity vortex - the "it's too complicated for you, so you better hire some experts" argument. The huge number of job classes is caused by the Office of Administration, Division of Personnel's failure to police the system. Big companies enforce their standards from the top, but the state lets agencies tell them how unique their job titles need to be.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 6 months ago

I take issue with the News Tribune's summary on this article because it indicates the News Tribune suffers from the same confusion as the legislative committee.

Missouri state employees are not the lowest paid among the fifty states because the state has a confusing and complex job classification system. That's a problem, but not the one that got state employees to dead last in the rankings. Missouri state employees are paid the least of all fifty states because the legislature and the governor chose to spend the taxpayers' money on other things. Those were hard choices but they were choices. The legislature and the governor finagled and cut the Medicaid program, they reduced the number of state employees, they cut the state employees' health care plan and made it more epensive for employees, they cut aid to public schools, and they cut aid to colleges and universities They did not cut tax credits which cost the state over half a billion dollars every year, and with term limits no politician has the courage to propose any sort of tax increase.

It will take money to fix the problem; not hearings, not studies, not expert consultants, and certainly not editorial or readers' opinions.

asb 1 year, 6 months ago

A state with the lowest economy would be a logical choice to have the lowest paid and/or fewest service employee, but Missouri has an economy right in the middle of the pack, for now.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 6 months ago

You'd sing a different song if you knew what reeality was like! I've been on both sides.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 6 months ago

Actually, the state is not getting the job done very well. The people that can't cut it should be let go but there are employees that are kept on because the state can't compete for more qualified workers. More employees and more qualified employees would get us safer roads in better repair, better educated kids, a social welfare system that actually got more people out of poverty and off drugs, more efficient and fair tax collections, and cleaner water and air. Private industry can not and will not do any of those things because there is no profit in those things for them.

Then again, Mike Kehoe and Kevin Riley could sell more cars and pickup trucks, we might have a mall full of better stores, more people would build nicer new homes, and the cycle goes on and on. The present situation we are in drags the whole area economy down. That might suit you just fine, but it doesn't suit the rest of us.

him 1 year, 6 months ago

I agree with tonto_goldberg. There is too much spending on other things and the people at the Capitol cut the State employees to pay for it. What I suggest is they pass a law that State employees get an automatic 2% cost of living EVERY year. Then they can spend whatever is left on funding other things. If there is extra money after that give state employees a 2-4% raise. That is the kind of increase they used to get around 6%

JCLifer 1 year, 6 months ago

Better yet, once they get all the jobs reclassified and assign market-level pay to them, tie all employee and elected officials to the CPI and make it automatic every year based on the CPI. Make it based on a rule of law, rather than by the whim of men.

JCLifer 1 year, 6 months ago

What would be the change? They can't get rid of the deadwood now. The good ones leave on their own.

Realitycheck 1 year, 6 months ago

Same ol Republican song and dance "20,000 a year state worker broke the bank" LOL!

asb 1 year, 6 months ago

Calling a government job welfare, and mocking state workers with a "lifetime" joke doesn't get the citizens of Missouri better service. For the present pay, they get less experienced, less educated, less job trained, less motivated, less loyal . . . less in nearly every way. The only way that can be considered good is if you don't want effective government so you can justify hating it.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 6 months ago

See Graceful's comments above.

TheRickster 1 year, 6 months ago

To any of you that simply read a line or just blow out words without knowledge. reading like Graceful and some do,,is only an opinion of a situation. I have worked for the State and have family still employed. Private employers have moved into the better options than the State. I do not think they should have a set amount for a yearly raise, but considering all factors; no raise, insurance increase, canceled optional holidays, they have been burdoned. There are too many jobs that are only done by the masses. Further review shows there are some departments like Revenue that are over worked yearly while others have the gravy. Just for the record, has other business' made the employees sign a statement that they will perform any function the supervisor says to?

viktorkowski 1 year, 6 months ago

I have worked for the state eight years. these days that is a lifetime. most new hires last about two years before they become fed up. a majority of those leaving complain that the low pay compounded with lousy benefits pushes them to seek employment in the private sector. the results are we rarely see qualified applicants applying anymore. I don't think changes will happen until the extreme political agenda against state workers are removed from the legislature. even then it will take years to gain the acceptance as a worthy place of employment.

muleman 1 year, 6 months ago

I believe that raises should not be based on a percentile, due to the fact that the more you already make, the bigger your raise is. Cost of living is cost of living, a loaf of bread and a gallon of gas costs all employees the same. Why should the big dogs get a hefty raise for doing less when the workers get pennys for doing more?

muleman 1 year, 6 months ago

Please explain what part isnt true

JCLifer 1 year, 6 months ago

Wage compression would be a huge problem under this scenario.

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