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Alternative Work Schedules |
Alternative work schedules should be considered. The Department of Corrections used to work 12-hour shifts; Ely and Lovelock still do. But the remaining institutions are working 8-hour shifts. This increases cost to employees and increases sick calls. Put other departments on four 10-hour days, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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On a daily basis the administration of the Nevada Department of Corrections is forcing officers to stay and work double shifts. These correction officers are working 16 hour days, 8 of which are overtime hours. Since the state has budget issues, why are they forcing overtime? On average, at least five officers are being paid overtime per shift. That’s 15 officers per day at about $300 per officer, which equals $4500 per day spent in overtime. Many officers are hired for overtime in a single day. Administration or the director needs to get the message that we need to save money and paying overtime is not saving money.
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Cuts in Benefits for State Workers |
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Why are state workers always the target when it comes to budget shortfalls. I was informed that the proposed budget cuts for state employees are anywhere from 3 percent to 6 percent, mandatory furloughs, and a cut in the subsidy for health insurance.
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Provide early retirement buyouts to allow state employees within three years of retirement to retire early—provide up to 100 percent of the cost of buying retirement credit for employees within one year of retirement, 80 percent for employees within two years of retirement, and 60 percent for employees within three years of retirement.
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1. A 10 percent cut in pay for all elected officials in both the judicial and executive branches. 2. I believe judges were supposed to get a 30 percent pay increase this year, put it on hold until things improve. 3. A 10 percent cut in pay for all agency heads who serve by appointment as well as any others who serve by appointment. 4. All pay increases of any kind to be put on hold. Longevity pay could be put on hold. 5. Lay offs starting with senior people eligible for retirement. Goes against the rules? Then change the rules. What about incentives for early retirement? 6. Set up an incentive system for state employees to present ideas to save money in their department or agency, if their idea is adopted reward them with a percentage of the savings. The way things are now there is absolutely no incentive to do anything but status quo.
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I have no problem in the proposed 6 percent reduction while economic times are tough. Working one day less per week is better. The reason is when the economy turns around, which I am confident it will, and all state employees are making 6 percent less money; it could potentially take years for the Legislature to reinstate the salaries currently being paid. Under the one day less work week, when things improve, employees simply begin working 40-hour weeks again. For some of us in our later years, with less than the 20 plus years required for a full retirement, this is potentially a big reduction.
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I understand the need to revamp the retirement system and benefits for those who are still employed. I do not understand how you can take the insurance subsidy away from teachers who are already retired. I retired after 30 years of service. I was hired during the time that Medicare benefits were not deducted for teachers. What that means is that those of us who fall into that era of teaching will not qualify for Medicare benefits unless we have a spouse who qualifies or unless we now go back to work and earn enough credits to qualify.
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Government employees need to be put on a retirement/salary schedule comparable with the private sector. The fact that government employees can retire before age 50 is ridiculous. Often they end up being paid retirement benefits for longer than they worked. Also, the practice of buying out years of retirement and cashing in sick days to retire sooner needs to be changed. A minimum age of 65 is fair. They also need to pay into social security and Medicare. The current situation is going to bankrupt the state and local governments and then they just raise the taxes so the private sector has to pay for the government employees to sit around and do nothing.
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Benefit Cuts and Salary Reductions to State Workers |
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This is in response to the benefit cuts and salary reductions for Nevada State employees: 1) Eliminate retiree health subsidies for all employees who retire after July 1, 2009. It does not seem equitable to ask someone who has made a career out of a state position to go out at 50 years of age and find another job because the state is deciding to make major changes to one select group of people to make up the deficit.
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Instead of reducing the pay for state employees and ask them to do the same amount of work for less money, adopt the furlough days that California utilizes. When the budget gets better the furlough can go away. Or, offer a 4-day work week to the employees who would like to work less. This may allow them to keep the needed benefits yet spend more time at home with the children and family responsibilities.
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Why not create revenue instead of taking the easy out by cutting my pay, everything is being increased: health insurance, electricity, car insurance, and gas to name a few. How are we expected to pay our bills? The Governor has announced he will give his staff a raise as he is taking my pay.
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I have dedicated 21 years of my life to the State service and in that time I have seen government whittle away at State employee’s benefits. I do not qualify for Social Security so it does not benefit me to quit and go to work for a private company. State workers struggle in these times just like everyone else, trying to raise our families pay off some bills and get by. No better no worse. Why then do the State employees, teachers, and education have to shoulder this burden?
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Job Reduction to 80 Percent |
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I believe if State employees were given the option to cut their full time positions, for example 100 percent to 80 percent, you would see more productivity, less waste, less sick leave usage, and better morale.
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Although most legislators are grand standing on the issue of whether we should raise taxes or not, there isn’t any talk about cutting benefits for State, city, and county employees.
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Instead of the draconian measures proposed by Governor, consider making 62 the mandatory retirement age, no matter how long anyone has worked. If someone has worked for the State for 30 years, but they are only 59, then they should take that 4 percent reduction for the three years remaining; effective for anyone employed after July 1, 2009.
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The state has generous policies on allowing employees to accumulate annual leave, and departments and agencies are required to pay out the value of the accumulated leave when the employee is terminated, quits, or retires. This is a major expense to the state, though perhaps hidden in agency budgets. Reasonable annual leave actually taken on a regular basis is perhaps good for employee morale and productivity, but excess accumulated annual leave paid out as a lump sum upon termination does not provide any real value for the state.
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Changes to Retiree Benefits |
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What you are proposing to do to current public employee retirees amounts to “retroactive stealing” or “deal breaking.” You are attempting to reduce benefits that individuals have worked 30 years to enjoy. I don’t understand how you can think this is fair. Prior to retirement I was told what my benefits would be and was told this would be the benefit for life. There was no mention that this may change because we get a governor who turns a blind eye to commitments already made.
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Reduce out of state travel in all agencies. Start by eliminating such travel for the governor and his staff then apply it to all of his appointees. Provide a financial incentive to agencies which reduce travel expenditures.
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I understand a salary reduction is probably going to happen for state employees. However, I suggest a furlough of 2 hours per week or 4 hours each pay period in lieu of salary reductions. I believe this will help keep morale a little higher. In addition, I think any furloughs or pay reductions should only be applied to classified staff at a pay grade 25 or higher and all unclassified, non-classified and elected officials. Anyone at a pay grade 24 or less is already struggling greatly. Reductions to their salaries will have a much greater negative impact than it would to others at higher pay grades.
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As a State employee, I briefly look thru the different agencies in our State; Parks, Cultural Affairs, Education, Universities & Colleges, and Wildlife. These are areas in our society that are generally able to accept tax-deductible donations.
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Law enforcement does not need any cuts whatsoever. The Department of Corrections is in need of good correctional officers. With a 6% pay cut it would be impossible to fill the ranks of an extremely dangerous job that is already underpaid and undermanned. Once inmates are locked away the public forgets about the person who is still a murderer, rapist, or your neighborhood gangbanger. Support our law enforcement NO PAY CUTS.
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In order not to permanently cut state employee wages, which are not high or excessive by any standards, I think one- or two-days per month furloughs should be used during this budget crisis. This would save the state money now when it is needed without forever setting wages back for state employees.
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My husband and I are both State employees and thankful for our jobs. However, we don’t understand why only State employees are expected to help with the burden of our State’s finances.
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State Employee Salary Cut |
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It is the responsibility of all citizens of the State of Nevada to resolve the budget issues, not just State employees.
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"Nevada has one of the lowest per capita of state government employees in the nation. Nevada state employees are compensated at close to the national average. The SAGE Commission found state employee pay, for the most part, is in line with what their private sector counterparts make. Where are the leaders in Nevada? One group of elected officials is getting a healthy raise in pay January 2009, despite the state’s budget crisis. With the new year, all Nevada Supreme Court and District Court judges get $30,000 added to their annual salaries. Their increases, approved by the 2007 Legislature, will cost the state an estimated $2.8 million a year. But NO FREEZE? Their raises, when compared to judicial salaries for the 50 states, will put Nevada’s Supreme Court salaries among the 10 highest in the nation and the District Court salaries in the top five. Cap the vacation allowance for state employees at no more than 5 weeks per year. For all state employees, Cap longevity pay at the 20 years rate. If there needs to be a pay cut for any state employees it should be 10-15% at top-level positions (grade 40 and above), 5-10% at upper mid-level positions (grade 36-39), and 2-5% at upper low-level positions(grade 29-35), and 0-2% at bottom level or entry-level positions (grade 28 or below)."
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"At the DMV why don't we start charging for driving manuals and all permits and even to take the test. $5 for each isn't much and would start adding up quickly!!"
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Do Not Balance Budget on State Workers Backs |
"Just wanted to voice my opinion about the idea of balancing the budget on the backs of the State Workers. I work in the welfare department and unlike most industries this poor economy causes our case loads to increase (Doubled in the last 6 months) And now the Governor is gong to propose a 6% pay cut??. (twice the work and 6% less pay) It's bad enough the Governor wants to raise our insurance premiums. (which is the same thing as a pay cut / tax increase, but I suppose I could opt out of the insurance plan and leave my family at risk and uninsured) and lets not forget that he is also going to cut our COLA increase for the next 2 years. So overall we are looking at what really is a 15- 20% pay cut. All other options on the table should be considered and implemented before cutting our salaries. Such as a -Four-day, 10-hour workweek for all non-critical Nevada State employees.(Sage report recommendation) -Cut out the waste - while working in the welfare we are always amazed about how all the other departments, get new furniture, new computers, nice expensive lunch rooms, Over time pay. etc. We pretty much live pay check to pay check right now and a 6% pay cut would cause us to lose our house. I hope (pray) that you all think long and hard before approving anything like this. Please tell the Governor not to Balance the State budget on the backs of the state workers."
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"Since most legislators have other jobs can they do the job during session for free or less? Also, can the LV legislators do it from LV rather than pay them for food, lodging, etc?"
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State Law Enforcement Agencies |
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I suggest consolidation of many of the state's law enforcement agencies and functions. Also we can no longer afford to allow law enforcement personnel to commute to and from work in state vehicles under the guise of being "on call." some of there commutes are hundreds of miles per week.
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"Allow state agencies to purchase basic office supplies and furniture from vendors such as Wal-Mart and ShopKo."
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"I just recently read an article about how Utah's non-essential, non-public-safety services are going to 4 10 hr day work weeks. They expect to save $3 million in utility bills alone by closing those offices. Why can't something like this be done for our business offices? Of course certain services need to remain available 24/7, but do people really need to pay their taxes or apply for a state job on a Friday instead of a Thursday? Just a thought."
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"Consider buying out retirements. It would cost the state $50,000 or so to buy my last two years, but over that same time I would make about $150,000 in salary, not to mention the states contribution to PERS and my other benefits. In addition my position could be held open for further savings. A win/win proposition."
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"Many of us in NDOC have asked if we could go on a 4-10hour shift schedule instead of the 5 day work week. We would sign a wavier for no overtime. We think this should be optional for state employees. This would save the daily RAD payment of $7.50 for the state. For every person who goes to a 4 day work week the state saves $7.50 a week. If 1000 employees did this it would save the state $4,000,000 a year."
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"Dear Ma'am/Sir When corporations have expensive labor they sometimes offer retirement buyouts. Can the State of Nevada do this? With 8-9 years of service as a Corrections Officer I earn about 50 percent more than a new hire. Yes, it will take a year or two before a new employee is capable of continuous, independent judgment decisions required to be effective, but the point is that much could be saved with less long term employees. Also, as we age sick time use and insurance costs rise. I am not suggesting that we steal from or cheat coworkers or make this an exercise in corruption gone wild. It might be possible to be fair, and reduce both long term and short term labor expense. A simple example might be to offer the aging employee what was deducted from their payroll plus, the states matching amount and a fair interest rate. There is no way to really know if anyone would accept the arrangement, most people stay in a system like this hoping to receive a small monthly income to help in old age, but it could be one tool. I do not believe this would in anyway reduce the integrity of the current retirement system. We all must keep in mind that as people try to adjust personal spending to the new situation (oil and natural gas costs) they will not have the discretionary income to travel/gamble as before. Thank You"
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Suggestions for Cost Saving |
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"I would like to suggest that the state consider requiring receipts for meal (per diem) reimbursement. The rates set are rather high. The current rates could be used as a maximum but the state should only be reimbursing what was actually spent. I recently traveled to Las Vegas on state business and didn't spend anywhere near what the rates allow on my meals. I would also like to suggest that the state set a deadline for paying off the anticipated pay that many state employees still owe. If we were in fact over paid I don't understand why the state would allow us to hold on to that money until our departure from the state. I know several employees, myself included, that have not paid the money back. It seems to me that the state would want to collect on their debts at this time."
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Easy way to save state money |
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"There are several easy ways to save the state money: 1. Anyone earning more than $150,000 per year, including benefits, stocks etc. will give the difference in dollars to the employing agency- the Governor to the state, university personnel [ALL] to the employing school, etc. 2. The NV State Board of Regents follow their MI counter-parts example by not accepting any pay raises. 3. Any State personnel currently qualified to receive a pension either accept that pension to live on, or accept the state salary and give the difference back to the general fund or school funds. 4. A public disclosure of what happened to the excess amounts of funds the state had during the last 4 years of the Guinn administration up to the first year of the Gibbons administration, make the review transparent to the voting public, allowing their input during this process; once the review has been done any misplaced funds shall be repaid to the state, along with any appropriate legal actions taken."
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"With the upcoming 2009 Nevada State Legislature, there will be many challenging decisions that will need to be implemented due to the recent and possibly continued budget cuts. My proposal is a Early Retirement Bill that assists the State in reducing future costs by creating a younger work force that is paid far less money. This cost effective early retirement will instantaneously reduce payrolls and encourage an influx of younger public servants without impacting the delivery of public services. Early retirement is a humane way to reduce the workforce and avert layoffs. This proposal would offer no incentive such as adding any service credits, but would allow state employees the choice of retirement with a combination of age and years of service equal to 80, without penalty or early retirement reduction. For example: an individual 52 years of age and with 28 years of service currently would be penalized every month until this individual turned 60 years if age. This new proposal would allow retirement eligibility based on service credit which would be 28 years without penalties, as long as the combination equaled to 80. Please feel free to contact me and I would gladly assist in further research and/or cost analysis of this proposal."
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Mandatory time off for employees |
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"The week between Christmas and New Years is nearly shut down. If a closure would not impact PERS, shut down ALL non-essential state services during this week. Employees could use annual leave or take no pay. Or state employees could take 1 day off per month instead of a cut in pay until revenues increase. This would spread the pay cut over a longer period of time. Have a "sunset clause," please."
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"The state wastes to much money on printing costs. The governor's name and administrators names are not necessary on letterhead-this is an unnecessary extravagance. These names are continually changing and reams of paper are going in the garbage as a result."
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"Do supervisors who work in offices really need to be provided a vehicle to take to and from work? Should we be paying for them to get to and from their jobs? Couldn't they put in a written request whenever a vehicle is needed, as does everyone else? Might the elimination of such an extravagance save someone else's job?"
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Cut Back the Research Staff |
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"When every penny, nickel, and dime is needing to be cut, I'd like the Legislative Counsel Bureau to cut back its Research Division staff to one professional person to staff each legislative committee. Let the legislators get back to doing their own constituent work or let them hire their own staff with campaign funds."
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