State employees are offering solutions to reform government, save money

As a youth specialist at Maxey Training School in Livingston County, I enjoy working with youth and helping them get back on their feet, seize opportunities and succeed in society.

I have spent 24 years working with children and youth who have come through the juvenile system in Michigan. My colleagues and I want to make a positive difference in these young lives. It can be hard work. Sometimes, it’s physically and emotionally grueling.

And it’s worth every minute of our time and effort.

State employees like me want to make sure that we can continue providing essential services to our fellow Michiganders. During tough budget times, we have stepped up and made sacrifices, including taking wage cuts and paying more for health benefits. Some of us have even lost our jobs. We believe in sharing in the sacrifices. We also believe in offering solutions.

David Baker

One solution state employees recently offered is a report that identifies opportunities to save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year -- and protect and preserve essential public services that directly help people. These are frontline services, such as ensuring the safety of our roads and food supply, delivering health care to students and seniors, and much more.

The report, “New Solutions for Michigan,” identifies three opportunities to streamline government, reform our budget and save taxpayer dollars.

According to publicly available data, Michigan is one of the most manager-heavy states in the nation, with an average of one manager for nearly six frontline employees. In comparison, Texas today has one manager for every 14 employees, under a streamlining plan that has bipartisan support in the Lone Star State. Iowa’s legislature has set a goal of 20 frontline workers for every manager by 2016. Oregon is moving toward an 11:1 ratio.

In comparison with other states, Michigan has proportionally more managers than the frontline employees who provide services day in and day out.

By streamlining government and reducing bureaucracy, we can also save taxpayer dollars. According to the “New Solutions” report, an increase in staff-to-manager ratio saves money. Going from a 6:1 employee-manager ratio to a 7:1 ratio will save an estimated $75 million a year. If Michigan went to an 11:1 ratio like some states, we could save hundreds of millions of dollars every year - and still have the frontline workers we need to provide vital services.

“New Solutions” also sheds new light on what Michigan spends on private contracts: 26 cents for every $1 of taxpayer money. In comparison, state employee salary and benefits cost 10 cents for every dollar, according to data newly available on the Michigan Transparency website (apps.michigan.gov/MiTransparency/).

Michigan spends two-and-a-half times more on contractors than its own workforce, spending billions of dollars in long-term contracts with out-of-state firms.

Michigan can save around $110 million every year with a modest 10 percent cut in the $1.1-billion-per-year contract costs outside of community health and higher education, through savings from vendors or reducing agencies’ dependence on contractors.

Everybody else is tightening their belts. We believe state government can do the same with contractors, by performing a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of contracts to ensure agencies are providing services in the most cost-effective manner.

Closer partnership between employees and managers can also lead to cost-savings. Frontline service providers are often the first ones to spot efficiencies, and we should encourage their hands-on cost-saving innovations.

As a frontline worker, I want to make sure I can continue to give back to our state and help my fellow Michiganders. These are all common-sense reforms can help protect vital services, by streamlining government and saving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every.

Dave Baker lives in Tecumseh and is president of AFSCME Local 1327.The New Solutions for Michigan report can be found at www.seiu517m.org/2011/05/23/new-solutions-report .