Citing a new report out today by the non-partisan state Office of Fiscal Analysis, state Senator Beth Bye (D-West Hartford), who is Senate Chair of the Appropriations Committee, announced today that state employee overtime has been cut by $32.9 million over the past year and has been accomplished with five percent fewer state employees.
According to OFA, overtime has been reduced from $237.6 million in FY 2015 to approximately $204.7 million through the first 11 months of FY 2016.
Reducing the amount of state employee overtime is and has been a state budget priority for Sen. Bye and other legislators as they attempt to reduce state spending in the wake of reduced tax revenue collections, especially in the area of personal and corporate income taxes.
“We’ve reduced overtime over the past year by about 14 percent, a savings to the taxpayers of nearly $33 million, and we’ve done that with five percent fewer employees, which is even more impressive,” said Sen. Bye. “I think these numbers just go to show that Connecticut is taking its fiscal responsibilities very seriously, and that we are leaving no stone unturned—including layoffs, reduced overtime and increased productivity—in our effort to achieve budgetary savings.”
The OFA report notes that just five state agencies account for over 90 percent of General Fund overtime expenditures: the Department of Correction, Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services, Department of Developmental Services, Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
At the same time, the number of state employees in the 36 state agencies accruing overtime dropped by 989 positions, or 5 percent, from 19,726 to 18,737.
The OFA report notes that the FY 2016 figures are for the first 11 months of the fiscal year, from July 1, 2015 through June 1, 2016. The full report can be found online.