Driven by the potential tsunami of state workers retiring by July 2022, Connecticut could save between $600 million and $900 million, according to a new report.
The Cliff Retirements Adding Efficiency, Accountability, and Technology to Economize State Government (CREATES) report was produced by the Boston Consulting Group. The Connecticut Office of Policy and Management and Department of Administrative Services oversaw the project.
The study engaged more than 2,500 employees at 41 agencies and suggests roughly 200 opportunities for improvement and streamlining that are estimated at between $600 million and $900 million in savings. In anticipation of the report, Gov. Ned Lamont”™s fiscal year 2022-2023 biennial budget proposal includes savings of $20 million in 2022 and $155 million in 2023.
Based on an employee survey conducted as part of the project, there are more than 8,000 state employees eligible for retirement in 2022, 72% of whom are “seriously considering” retirement.
The report includes a wide range of suggestions, including further digitizing records, streamlining hiring processes, consolidating real estate assets, and continuing modernization efforts that Lamont said his administration has already embarked on.
“The world is changing rapidly, and our government needs to move more quickly to transform how we operate to have the greatest positive impact on people”™s lives,” Lamont said. “This report will help us do that. I look forward to reviewing these suggestions and considering them as part of our administration”™s broad modernization efforts.”
The report is the latest in a flurry of positive economic news for the state. Yesterday, Moody”™s Investors Service upgraded Connecticut”™s General Obligation bonds credit rating from “A1” to “Aa3,” the first such credit rating upgrade for the state since 1988.
Also announced yesterday was President Joe Biden”™s American Jobs Plan, which focuses on strengthening the economy by rebuilding the country”™s infrastructure and creating millions of good jobs
“What President Biden has unveiled is exactly the kind of investment needed to move our country and our state forward,” Lamont said.
“If our country is going to remain competitive on the world stage, then we must start with rebuilding our infrastructure, providing secure and well-paying jobs, making our energy grid cleaner and more reliable, and increasing access to broadband.
“I have supported many of these efforts at the state level here in Connecticut,” the governor continued, “with specific focus on closing the digital divide, making historic investments in offshore wind, fighting for a cleaner environment, and pushing our state to invest in bridges, roads, and public transit.
“This leadership in Washington is exactly how our state and nation will emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger than ever before,” Lamont declared.
If anyone took the time to check the public’s opinion of state workers, they might find out, based on our experience, that at least half of them appear to have already retired but are still collecting a regular paycheck.