[quote=UCGal]Except at a corporation the folks at the top would then award themselves big bonuses for being so effective at making the cuts. The board of directors would agree – and up their own compensation while they’re at it. In the meantime 15-20% of the former employees are out of jobs and those remaining have more work and less budget to work with.
Call me cynical. I don’t think the corporate model is a good one.[/quote]
I agree the “corporate model” won’t work, UCGal. In the nineties, County Department Heads and other top staff DID get large annual bonuses for staying under budget. They did this by eliminating positions in their departments/agencies. There was public outrage from all sides over this debacle so not sure if it still goes on.
Of your “15-20%” (I’m thinking 25-30%) of State, County, City employees that will be out of jobs due to budget cuts, virtually ALL of them will be eligible for unemployment (a drain on the partially-Federally funded EDD). Employees close to retirement or with substantial seniority won’t get laid off (read: the ones mostly old enough to voluntarily retire). That’s the way the “system” works. So the lowest-paid “newest” workers (most not yet vested in the retirement system) will be paid by EDD for up to two years and the highest paid (top step) employees doing the same tasks will remain employed. They will use the “LIFO” method of (worker) “inventory,” lol (last-in, first out). The “first-in” workers have “bumping rights.” :=!
This method of laying off will decimate services to the public, but won’t affect the budget much. The employees remaining will be higher paid and have MUCH higher retirement contributions. They’ll be overworked and burn out and use ALL of their substantial sick leave (1500 to 2000 hours anyone??), ALL their saved up annual leave and all the FML they can get away with to stay on the payroll and produce next to nothing. Couple this with agency closings several days per month and you have a “part-time” non-responsive government.
