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State Employees Getting A Raise
April 28, 2013
State employees would get a raise of at least $1,000 under a deal struck Saturday by House and Senate negotiators, as the final pieces of the state budget fell into place.
Under the plan agreed to by Senate Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, employees making up to $40,000 a year would receive a $1,400-a-year raise, though it wouldn’t kick in until Oct. 1. Employees earning more than $40,000 would see their annual salary boosted by $1,000, again beginning Oct. 1.
If signed by Gov. Rick Scott, the pay increase would be the first for state workers in six years. About 35 percent of state employees would also receive a $600 merit bonus.
“I think this is the best day for state employees in almost seven years,” said Doug Martin of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
How to boost compensation for state employees after state revenues were squeezed by the Great Recession has been one of the issues facing lawmakers for weeks. Scott proposed a larger performance-based bonus, but no raise; lawmakers wanted to come up with some way to increase pay and have a merit component.
“Certainly, we would like to have more, but that’s far better quite frankly than what we had anticipated,” said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee.
The House and Senate also agreed to give state law enforcement officers an additional 3 percent pay raise, with those who have served for five or more years getting 2 percent on top of that. Lawmakers are trying to stem the tide of officers leaving agencies like the Florida Highway Patrol.
“We’ve had an issue, particularly with the FHP but with some other state law enforcement as well, where we spend a lot of money training the troopers, and then they get hired away by local government because they’re in high demand,” Negron said.
The leaders also agreed to pay $5 million to cancel a contract with Xerox to upgrade all of state government’s email systems to one unified platform — $2 million less than the state’s formal settlement with the company. The Senate agreed to a House proposal to take $5 million from state disaster funding to pay Xerox.
“We think that that’s a fair position and fair settlement, and I feel comfortable that will resolve the issue,” McKeel said.
The agreements essentially end a line-by-line examination of the budget spending items. But there is no agreement so far on the budgetary fine print that specifies how certain portions of that funding can be spent.
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
12 Responses to “State Employees Getting A Raise”
State workers lost 3 percent of their salary last year. 1,000 to top earners does not even replace 3 percent lost. 1,000 dollars is not a raise.
We will all believe it when we see it!! We have not had a raise since 2004.
State workers did not get the 3% offset for retirement like the county workers.
Coming from the private sector, I took a $10k annual cut in pay to work as a Judicial Assistant for the State of Florida; and it doesn’t matter that I hold a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree. However, I wouldn’t trade my job for any other. Helping others, especially when they are going through difficult times, is satisfying to me. The pay raise will be much appreciated!
It’s not much but it’s better than what we’ve had for the past 7 years. I’ll believe it when it’s in my pay check.
Keeping our fingers crossed, this actually happens.
State workers and ssi benifits are two different things. Most anyone can work with the state if they choose. I don’t get this at all SSI got a raise not long ago and really if you are on SSI you should know the more they raise your income the less it will benifit you food stamps go down if your on HUD that will go up I’m not talking bad about the government helping people I am for it 100% to me it’s better to help people in our on country before other countries. A lot of these state workers drive long distances and deal with things well….lets just say it truly changes people. So an extra 1000 a year is just the Rick trying to get a extra vote. If you truly don’t understand how SSI increase of a extra thousand a year would not be good then I don’t know what to say except we’ll I just don’t know.
Well, I for one hope it goes through. Especially for the CPS workers who are completely overlooked usually. They are squeezed between office workers and law enforcement, but do the job of both. And are in more danger than the officers and more overworked than the usual paperpushers. If people just knew what they go through. And the sacrifices they make. Someone once said they should be able to get the early retirement, like law enforcement, after fifteen years because of the hazardous duty and stress it has on a person….wish that would come true…
If or when they get it or if the gov. signs will be good for state employee.I will say this ya’ll deserve it, but it doesn’t sound like araise it sounds more like a replacement & he doesn’t want to admit he done wrong.
We’re happy for the State Employee’s they deserve it.
@ Jane ; Nobody wants to come to work for the State of Florida, you need to know your facts first please.
Now we need to get the county employee’s a raise, they have went several years without a raise also.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will actually happen. it’s been a long time coming. I know many many people who could really use this.
No wonder everyone wants to work for the state. I bet those on SSI would like a raise too!