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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Buyout offers, hiring freeze coming for state government amid budget crunch
Gov. Wes Moore hands a pen used to sign the state's $67 billion fiscal 2026 budget to House Appropriations Chair Ben Barnes. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) The Moore administration plans to slash about $121 million from the state's personnel budget through a combination of buyouts to state employees, a hiring freeze and elimination of at least 150 vacant positions, officials said Tuesday. The measures were announced in a 'Dear colleagues' letter from Gov. Wes Moore (D) to state employees that was sent at noon Tuesday. 'We are moving with care and intentionality to minimize impact on current employees and be transparent throughout the process,' Moore wrote in the letter. Moore Chief of Staff Fagan Harris said in an interview with Maryland Matters that state officials have been trying for weeks to come up with a plan to get the savings from the state's general fund, in accordance with the fiscal 2026 budget that the governor signed in May. 'It's going to be all of these things that help us get to the number, ultimately,' Harris said. As recently as two weeks ago, the administration was looking at layoffs of current workers as part of the budget-cutting mix, an administration official said at the time. But Harris said Tuesday that they were ultimately able to stop short of actual layoffs. Even so, the measures will hamper Moore's goal of growing the state workforce. When he took office in 2023, Moore pledged to rebuild state government, including by filling 5,000 positions left vacant by his predecessor, Gov. Larry Hogan (R). And Moore has recently pushed state agencies to hire former federal workers in search of new jobs amid the Trump administration's cost-cutting measures. Federal layoffs drag down state employment gains for second month, new numbers show As of the end of May, there were about 4,800 vacancies in all state agencies, a 9.3% vacancy rate, according to Raquel Coombs, a spokesperson for the Department of Budget and Management. The administration's plan excludes the University System of Maryland, which previously announced cuts. Also excluded from the hiring freeze are the state's '24/7' facilities, such as prisons, hospitals and juvenile facilities, as well as sworn state troopers, Harris said. Administration officials said they're still crafting the buy-out plan and choosing which vacant positions to eliminate, but those same positions are likely to be excluded. As part of Tuesday's announcement, the administration is also pushing state agencies to come up with 'creative' cost-cutting solutions, Harris said. That includes 'in-sourcing' contracted jobs and consolidating physical facilities, to the extent possible, he said. Harris said that non-union employees, including those in the governor's office, will not receive planned salary increases, such as merit raises and step increases. But they will receive a 1% cost-of-living increase in July. Patrick Moran, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3 — which represents more than 26,000 state employees — said the state's ongoing issues with 'chronic understaffing, dangerous working conditions, and unsustainable workloads' must be taken into account as the final decisions are made on cuts. 'While it's clear our state must navigate tough and volatile times, any solutions cannot come at the cost of providing quality state services,' Moran said in a statement Tuesday. He said the union will push for cost-saving measures that 'prioritize our state services and the workers who make them happen.' 'That includes eliminating costly contracts, in-sourcing services where needed, addressing other inefficiencies, and closing corporate tax loopholes to raise much-needed state revenue,' Moran wrote. Del. Ben Barnes (D- Anne Arundel and Prince George's), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was pleased to see the governor take a path that did not include cuts of current staff. 'I'm very happy to see that there will not be furloughs or layoffs, as they're not warranted or necessary given our current fiscal picture,' Barnes said. Sen. Guy Guzzone (D- Howard), chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, hailed the governor's move as 'very reasonable and logical.' It should achieve the $121 million in needed cuts, but Guzzone warned that further cuts at the federal level could force state officials back to the drawing board. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 'We don't know what else may come along — what other shoe might drop,' Guzzone said. 'But I think it's important to keep a level head and make reasonable decisions along the way. And I think this was a reasonable decision by the governor.' Barnes said that, based on data from the Department of Legislative Services, he believes the $121 million in savings could be achieved solely by slashing vacant positions. 'Anything beyond that would be additional actions the governor was taking,' Barnes said. Barnes said the state has reached a solid fiscal position, citing the state's triple-A bond ratings this year from Fitch and Standard & Poor's. Critically, though, Maryland lost its treasured triple-A bond rating this year from Moody's, the third major bond rating agency, which also downgraded half a dozen other state borrowing programs. Republican legislative leaders criticized the Moore administration for not enacting the hiring freeze sooner, even as the state's financial woes became clear. 'Back in February, I questioned the wisdom of expanding state government while facing a $2.8 billion deficit. I said then, and I repeat now: when you're in a hole, you need to stop digging,' wrote Sen. J.B. Jennings (Baltimore and Harford) in a statement. 'The decision to finally enact a hiring freeze and reduce vacant positions is the right one — but it should have happened months ago, before the situation became more urgent.' Jennings and other Republicans called for the freeze as early as February, in response to Moore's budget proposal. But Moore administration officials had balked at taking such a step. 'Let's be honest: this is the Moore Administration quietly admitting that Senate Republicans were right,' said Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready (R-Frederick and Carroll) in a statement. Moore's 'Dear colleagues' letter said the hiring freeze will begin July 1. Harris said it is likely to last at least through the fiscal year. The precise terms for voluntary separation agreements are likely to be released in the coming weeks, Harris said, adding that the administration does not yet have a goal for a number of buyouts. 'We want to drive as much adoption as we can, but there's no specific target,' Harris said. The administration is planning to bring a list of vacant positions to the Board of Public Works for elimination around September. 'We want to make it so that the public does not feel these changes,' Harris said. 'We certainly are aware of a large universe of savings there, but we're going to be really careful and intentional this summer, as we work through this to achieve as many savings as we can responsibly.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Moore's bill to rein in Blueprint school reform plan draws fire at hearing
Fagan Harris (center), chief of staff to Gov. Wes Moore (D), at a hearing on the administration's schools bill. He is flanked by Mike Thomas, the governor's deputy legislative officer, and Carmel Martin, special secretary of the Governor's Office for Children. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Kent County Schools Superintendent Mary McComas had just finished criticizing lawmakers for proposed cuts to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future in the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, when she was gently corrected. House Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel) thanked McComas for her service as a superintendent, then politely made a point. 'Just to be clear. This is not the legislature's bill. I just want to be clear about that,' Barnes said, drawing a few chuckles and smiles from others at the hearing on the Moore administration bills. Senate Bill 429 and its companion, House Bill 504, were the subjects of a four-hour joint hearing that brought together four legislative committees. In addition to Appropriations, members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Budget and Taxation and Education, Energy, and the Environment committees were on hand to hold a joint hearing in the state's newly opened Department of Legislative Services building. Scores of teachers, students and advocates turned out for the hearing and dozens testified against the bills, which would defer some elements of the multibillion-dollar, 10-year Blueprint plan in the face of a $3 billion budget shortfall next year — which is expected to grow worse as a result of budget cuts expected from the Trump White House. One person who was not on hand to testify was Gov. Wes Moore (D) who sent aides instead, to the disappointment of some at the hearing. 'I am frustrated,' Ways and Means Chair Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard) said in a text message after Wednesday's hearing. 'It is a significant bill proposing significant changes to the BP [Blueprint]. I think his in-person support of his legislation would have been good to see.' Mary Pat Fannon, executive director of the Public School Superintendents' Association of Maryland, said she was surprised the governor didn't take the opportunity to testify before the four House and Senate committees. 'It is very rare to have four committees have a joint hearing. I thought they were trying to accommodate him,' said Fannon, who does not support the bills. 'You don't want to read too much into it, but you have to look a little bit into it.' Instead, Moore Chief of Staff Fagan Harris spent about an hour summarizing the administration's bills and stressing the governor's overall support for the Blueprint. 'I want to be put crystal clear: This governor is committed to seeing the Blueprint through. That's why we're proposing this legislation,' Harris said. 'We think it maps to the realities we're seeing at the federal level,' he said. 'It maps the realities of the historic fiscal crisis we're currently navigating together and services implementation imperatives of the law, and yes, also makes the law more succinct.' Harris said the Blueprint is currently funded through next year, which could open the door to deficits thereafter. The changes proposed in the governor's bill would help put the Blueprint on more sustainable footing, he said. Harris said the administration bill calls for 'a pause' in funding for 'collaborative time,' a goal of the Blueprint that would eventually reduce teachers' time in the classroom from 80% of the day to 60% to allow for more planning, training, individual work with students and more. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The Blueprint calls for implementation of collaborative time to begin next year, but Harris said that would require the hiring of another 12,000 to 15,000 teachers at a time when the state is already grappling with a teacher shortage. 'Because of this shortage, it is not currently feasible to implement collaborative time in a way that would yield the intended benefits for student achievement,' Harris said. The bills would delay collaborative time for four yars, which would allow school districts more time to recruit and retain teachers. In the interim, the administration bills include funding for several alternate teacher and administrator programs, such as a Grow Your Own initiative to expand teacher and staff pipelines, boost diversity in the profession and establish apprenticeship programs. The administration bills would also keep funding for community schools — those in areas of concentrated poverty — at its current level for two years. Harris defended the level funding for community schools, noting that the administration has pushed to increase the number of such schools from 447 to 715, and has more than doubled funding, from $227 million to $490 million this year. One of the few voices in support of the governor's bill was State Schools Superintendent Carey Wright. 'We must ensure that the collaborative time policy does not unintentionally decrease the instructional time for students or negatively impact academic performance,' Wright said in written testimony to the committees. Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), a member of the Senate 'Triple-E' committee, said she supports the pause in collaborative time — but thinks the state could face unintended consequences if it rushes into creating collaborative time. Carozza is sponsoring a bill – Senate Bill 791 – that would keep the current 80% classroom time for teachers. A hearing on that measure is scheduled for Friday. But Moore's proposal to freeze funding for community schools — which get a high concentration of poverty-based grants such as the number of students who receive free and reduced-price meals — did not sit well with several lawmakers. Atterbeary called the proposal 'a cut' — despite Harris' characterization of it as a pause — and said the legislature just approved community schools legislation last year. Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City), who serves on the Budget and Taxation Committee, said when he visits community schools he sees 'young scholars that looked like me.' McCray, who is Black, asked Harris if the administration has conducted research on student demographics in those community schools. 'This is not about cutting programs already in motion that are already in motion making a huge difference in the lives of kids,' Harris said. 'We see this as a chance to better leverage the program and the dollars going into it and letting effective implementation keep up with our pace of investment.'
