Budget hazard to environment
Jobs and services at the state Department of
Environmental Conservation are seriously endangered by
the budget, which would chop 234 full-time jobs in the
coming fiscal year.
The greatest losses would be in programs for forest and
land resources, air and water quality management, solid
and hazardous waste, environmental enforcement, and fish,
wildlife and marine resources, among others.
These new job cuts are on top of 185 positions lost
during the current fiscal year, beyond the job loss
projected for 2002-03. — Sherry Halbrook
Budget would
dismember education
Once more, the governor proposes to transfer the state
Library, Archives and Museum from the Education
Department (SED) to the Council on the Arts and convert
them to a public-benefit corporation.
The new agency would be called the NY Institute for
Cultural Education, and cultural promotion would be its
sole objective.
This would involve the transfer of 400 staff.
In addition, the budget would transfer by October 1 most
employees in the state’s Vocational Education
Services to Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) program
from the Education Department to the state Labor
Department. Approximately 800 staff would move to DOL.
And the Office of Professions would be transferred to the
state Department of State by October 1. This is linked to
the elimination of 44 positions.
It appears these maneuvers will result in a total of
1,544 staff transferred out of the Education Department
and another 189 SED jobs eliminated. — Sherry
Halbrook
Health programs
would move to Insurance Dept.
The governor’s plan to borrow against the
state’s share of the tobacco settlement has resulted
in numerous budget Band-Aids that leave the question of
funding for state Health Department (DOH) programs murky.
It appears that funding for Roswell Park Cancer Institute
would drop by $10 million annually, but the state says
this should not result in staff cuts there this year.
Because of the loss of tobacco settlement funds, the DOH
budget would also pare down a variety of public health
programs, including rural health care, poison control,
emergency medical services, cancer initiatives, worker
retraining and anti-tobacco efforts. State Senate budget
analysts estimate these proposed cuts would total $151
million over two years.
PEF has identified a net decrease of 199 positions at DOH
from the staffing level projected in the 2003-03 budget,
including 63 for this year. The 58 staff in positions
that would be abolished are those most vulnerable to
layoffs, but it’s not clear in which program these
positions are. — Sherry Halbrook
See related budget links below:
• Office of Mental Health
(OMH)
• Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities (OMRDD)
• Office of Children and
Family Services (OCFS)
• Transportation Department (DOT)
• Office of General Services (OGS)
• Department of Environmental
Conservation (ENCON)
• Education Department (SED)
• Vocational Education Services to Individuals with
Disabilities (VESID)
• Health Department (DOH)
• Department of Corrections
Services
• Division of Parole (DOP)
• Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV)
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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Features
New pact ends 20 years of
sick-leave inequity
PEF wins $1.75 million for
members
Downstate members to save on
fares
Stay in the know with
contract talks
Early Retirement window is
closing fast
Budge
Breakdown
PEF fires back against
proposed budget
Program, job cuts in
proposed state budget
• Office of Mental Health
(OMH)
• OMRDD
• Office of Children
and Family Services (OCFS)
• Transportation Department (DOT)
• Office of General Services (OGS)
• ENCON
• Education Department (SED)
• VESID
• Health Department (DOH)
• Department of
Corrections Services
• Division of Parole (DOP)
• Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV)
Departments
President's Message:
Stopping job-killing layoffs
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
Health & Safety: Working
conditions symposium
Member Mobilization:
Exposing weakest links
Nurses' Station: LobbyDay
plans for May 5th
Health Notes: Expanded
coverage for women
Retirees In Action:
Death-benefit coverage
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Union Matters
DVD on members’
accounts of workplace violence
Hidden talents emerge among
members
State AFL-CIO offers
scholarship
Election Board meeting
DCAAccount user? File IRS
form 2441
2003-2006 Elections
Corrected Definitions
Other Links
Professional Directory
Members' Classified
Member Communicator Feedback
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The Communicator Staff
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