The raises are agreed to. The money is there. But state employees still aren't seeing a dime — because the legislature still hasn't passed a budget.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate announced a high-level budget framework last month, 10 months after the fiscal year it was supposed to govern had already begun. Now, committee chairs are still working through the finer details of the spending plan with a self-imposed deadline looming — one that, by all accounts, they are unlikely to meet.

For state employees, the delay isn't an abstraction. The pay raises both chambers agreed to won't take effect until a final budget is signed into law. Every week that passes is another week those raises sit on paper while your bills keep coming.

Senate Democrats gathered this week to mark what they called 1,000 days without a budget, highlighting the direct impact the legislature's inaction has had on state workers' pay. SEANC Executive Director Ardis Watkins put it plainly: without raises, state employee pay has fallen behind rising inflation and healthcare costs — and that is driving the vacancy crisis spreading across state government.

"We have huge vacancy crises in these jobs simply because we can't recruit at the pay we're offering now," Watkins said.

We discussed the delay at length on this week's The SEANC View podcast. We also talk about Stanley Cup Fever that has taken over Raleigh, the continuing debate over the Atrium/WakeMed merger, rising healthcare costs for retirees, and more.

The raises are there. The will is there — at least in part. What's missing is a budget. And that's entirely within the legislature's control.

Click here to tell your legislators to pass the budget!

This week, SEANC launched two new tools to put real numbers behind what you already know. Active employees can visit seanc.org/pay to see how their pay has stacked up against the cost of living since the year they were hired.

If you're a retiree, a new COLA calculator shows exactly how much buying power your pension has lost since you retired — and how much ground the legislature has failed to make up.