Budget asks no sacrifices of wealthy PEF tells state: Share the pain By DENYCE DUNCAN LACY The governor’s Executive Budget for 2002-’03 does not contain state-worker layoffs, but it does propose to cut 5,000 jobs, including 411 in the already short-staffed Office of Mental Health. Those cuts are cause for union concern, said PEF President Roger Benson. “This is, on balance, a good budget, especially when the state was facing a projected $6 billion shortfall in December,” Benson said when the proposal was unveiled on January 22. “The good news is the budget proposal does not include layoffs. But this spending plan still places state workers’ jobs and critical public services at risk, because it relies too heavily on increased federal aid and proposed fees — funding sources that are far from certain. What happens to public services later this year or next year, if these federal revenues and fees don’t come through?” he asked. Fair share of sacrifices Benson said, instead of cutting state services and relying on uncertain revenues, the state should look to the wealthy and big business to do their share. “We have called for shared sacrifices, and this budget asks no sacrifices of the wealthy or big business,” Benson said. “PEF members who work in state psychiatric centers are already understaffed, and any further cuts will make these facilities even more dangerous for clients and our members who work there,” Benson warned. PEF is calling for restoration of a minimum of 155 beds and 136 full-time-equivalent positions, and is urging the Legislature to mandate that OMH develop a system-wide planning process driven by client need, rather than budget considerations. “Rather than reducing services to this vulnerable population as a way to save money, we will urge state leaders to look at new ways to increase state revenues.” And in testimony before the state Senate Finance Committee and Assembly Ways and Means Committee, PEF urged the legislators to delay the proposed tax cuts for profitable corporations, banks and insurance companies. The union also suggested the state enact a temporary, two-year, seven-tenths of 1 percent (.007) surcharge on taxpayers’ adjusted gross income above $100,000 and another seven-tenths of 1 percent (.007) surcharge on portions of their income above $200,000. No closures, consolidations Benson said the budget proposal does hold some good news for mental-health advocates. Unlike last year’s proposal, there are no plans to close or consolidate state psychiatric centers. State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-C, Bellerose) was among the lawmakers joining PEF in fighting the proposals to consolidate children’s psychiatric centers with facilities for adults, including one in his senate district in Queens. In a letter to Benson in January, Padavan expressed his gratitude. “I am happy to report, that based on our opposition, the Office of Mental Health has abandoned their plan,” Padavan wrote. “I want to thank you for your support and efforts on this matter and for your continued commitment to the young people of Queens. I also want to congratulate you for a victory we certainly share.” Benson said PEF is disappointed the proposed early retirement incentive is once again targeted only to positions state agencies are willing to eliminate. PEF has urged a broader incentive package (See related sidebar article,). And PEF is calling for passage of the 25/55 Pension Bill (A5558-B/S2945-B), either as a supplement to the traditional Early Retirement Incentive, or as a stand-alone bill. Other budget priorities PEF also asked state lawmakers to take these actions affecting other state agencies and services: • Restore vacant OMH shared staff positions in underserved areas. • Restore funding for the Youth Opportunity Program at the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) and supplement clinical staffing in OMRDD facilities. • Reject the state budget proposal to transfer the state Library, state Archives, and state Museum out of the state Education Department and into a public-benefit corporation. • Reject the budget proposal to consolidate the state Offices of Higher Education and of Professions into an Office of Higher Education and the Professions, and to privatize the review and oversight of college and university programs, and restore funding to keep these offices at their current staffing levels. • Reject the proposed reduction of 11 nursing-home-inspector positions and require the state Health Department to increase nursing home inspectors to the staffing levels agreed to last year. • Ensure any legislation to grant state University of New York hospitals greater flexibility will protect employees’ rights and keep the hospitals an integral part of SUNY. • Enact the Executive Budget’s proposal to discontinue the contracting out of drug, alcohol, and general counseling services at Department of Correctional Services’ (DOCS’) work-release facilities in New York City to improve the quality and security of these services. • Require DOCS to provide all inmates with the opportunity to earn a GED during their sentence. • Restore at least 16 parole-officer positions eliminated in the Executive Budget and ensure the state Division of Parole has adequate funding to fill enough vacant parole- officer positions to reduce their high caseloads. • Require the state Transportation Department (DOT) to hire more state engineers and reduce its reliance on costly consultants. • Ensure the state’s Superfund is reauthorized this year at a funding level sufficient to maintain its current staff and handle all cleanups needed at the state’s hazardous waste sites.

PEF pushes for tier- reform, ERI By SHERRY HALBROOK PEF is pushing hard for so-called “25/55” tier reform legislation that would allow public employees with just 25 years of service to retire without penalty at age 55, instead of requiring a minimum of 30 years of service. This 25/55 legislation, S2945B/A5558B, would eliminate the early-retirement penalty for members of pension Tiers 2, 3 and 4 who automatically lose up to 27 percent of their pensions if they retire before age 62 with less than 30 years of service credit. “If the state really wants more people to retire, removing that penalty would have a big effect and it would be permanent and apply to everyone in the pension system equally. It is the next logical step in reforming the system to remove inequalities among the tiers,” said PEF Legislative Director Brian Curran. Meanwhile, the Legislature is still considering the governor’s early retirement incentive (ERI) proposal aimed at saving the state money by getting more state workers to retire sooner. The proposal is similar to previous ERIs — offering a modest incentive of up to three years of extra service credits to employees as young as age 50 with at least 10 years of service credit. But additional penalties for retiring before age 55 are included in the proposal. Pataki would leave it up to state managers to decide which employees could apply for it, based on whose jobs the state is willing to eliminate. PEF wants the Legislature to open the ERI up to any state employees who qualify, but without requiring that their positions be eliminated when they retire. The state already has a strict hiring freeze in place to control filling vacancies. Meanwhile, how soon action could come on the ERI or the 25/55 Tier Reform Bill, is hard to say. “The sooner, the better, in terms of getting the maximum savings,” Curran said. “But there is a lot of controversy swirling around these issues.”