Idaho state employees’ pay, benefits in doubt

Mon., Dec. 8, 2008

Associated Press

BOISE – The state’s struggling economy has left state employee benefits up for debate, said Wayne Hammon, the governor’s finance chief.

State leaders have been working to raise employee pay while scaling back on benefits. But Hammon said Friday that workers may see raises on hold, with no guarantee that benefits will remain stable.

“I can’t promise on either front. I can’t say that there are no (raises), therefore there is no benefit cut,” Hammon said, the Idaho Statesman reported. “The governor said last year that both things move hand in hand. At this point, our numbers just aren’t final yet.”

Gov. Butch Otter has informed all Cabinet members, department directors and agency heads that “we just cannot afford” an increase in pay, Hammon said.

Otter has ordered all state departments and agencies to cut 4 percent from their budgets, and to develop a plan to cut another 2 percent if needed. He also said he wouldn’t ask for an increase in state employee pay – a plan he’d been pushing to bring public employees’ pay into parity with the private sector. State officials have said that given the economy, they would not move quickly with another plan to make state employees pay more for their health benefits, another step to more closely mirror the private sector.

Last year, a salary survey showed state employees’ salaries were an average of 15 percent behind market salary rates and that Idaho’s salary structure was as much as 10 percent behind market rates. The report recommended 5 percent merit raises and a 3 percent increase in the salary range for state workers.

Hammon said state analysts are expected to complete an economic forecast in the next two weeks and that he’ll review it and make a recommendation to Otter. The forecast and recommendation will be available to the public in the first week of January, he said.

The governor’s office will make its recommendation on salaries and benefits to the Legislature, but ultimately the lawmakers will make the decision, Hammon said.