PEF keeps spotlight focused o


By SHERRY HALBROOK State employees have a right to be


furious when they are forced to choose between deferred pay and layoffs while the state wastes millions of dollars on costly private consultants. Year after year, data shows the state


saves money when it uses or hires permanent employees to do its work, instead of handing that work off to consultants. Meanwhile, state leaders talk about


reforming state practices to save money, but it’s still business as usual when it


THE INVISIBLEWORKFORCE


Consultant spending has increased by 32% since SFY 2003-04 and continued to increase in SFY 2011-2012


$3.51 Billion


comes to New York’s reliance on consultants.


Spending shell game Last year (fiscal year 2011-12), while


state employees were voting to accept deferred pay to prevent 3,496 layoffs, the state increased its spending on contractors by $285 million. It also


decreased its spending for state employees’ pay by $395 million. “The net


$3.23 Billion


expenditure was down, but the heavier reliance on costly contractors undercut the savings,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “The state wastes millions of dollars while cutting public services and extracting employee givebacks.” More than 72


percent of the money the state saved in employee salaries in 2011- 12 was consumed by increased spending on consultants. So, how valid was the state’s claim it


$2.67 Billion


employees including the cost of their state-paid benefits. The state could save up to $316


THE INVISIBLE WORKFORCE State spending on consultants goes up as spending on employeesʼ decreases


$285 Million more


million annually by replacing some of its consultants with state employees. A PEF proposal to reduce the reliance on consultants over three years could save the state $600 million by 2014-15 and $300 million more annually after that. PEF’s proposal


calls for the state to establish a database for personal-service contracts so consistent expense information would be available for each state agency and for each major category of personal-service contracts. The union isn’t


alone in calling for this. A task force on personal-service contracting, that was created by Gov. David Paterson, recommended the same thing.


Comparison shop “Significant


$395 Million less


must lay off employees or cut their pay? Why were the scope, quality and quantity of state services to New Yorkers reduced? “The public doesn’t see this data,


unless we present it to them, but our members deeply resent these false economies that they see on their state jobs day after day,” Brynien said. “Worst of all, the public blame for fiscal shortfalls is manipulated to fall on them.”


PEF proposes database The average consultant cost the state


$0 2003-04 2010-11 2011-12 Page 4—The Communicator June 2012


$72.63 per hour in 2010-11. That’s 40 percent more than the average hourly cost of $51.72 for comparable state


savings could be achieved if state agencies compared


the costs of insourcing versus outsourcing before committing to consultant contracts,” Brynien said. PEF is calling on state legislators to


pass legislation (S3093/A5128-A) sponsored by Sen. Joe Robach and Assembly Member Harry Bronson that would require state agencies to do a cost comparison before awarding contracts, to determine if state employees could do the same work at a lower cost. “We are well aware of the need for


private consultants on specialized, short-term projects,” Brynien added. “But continually contracting out for bridge inspectors, engineers, architects and information-technology consultants who perform long-term state work is an insult to every taxpaying citizen of this state.”


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


—Art byMario Bruni


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