Senate budget falls short on pay raises, COLAs

May 10, 2017

The N.C. Senate finally released its full budget at two minutes until midnight Tuesday, and unfortunately it's no better than the summary given in Senate leaders' press conference earlier in the day.

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) answered a question at the press conference from WRAL's Laura Leslie on retiree cost-of-living adjustments by saying "that's not in my notes."

Unfortunately, it's not in his budget, either.

Senators are turning a blind eye once again to state retirees who dedicated their lives and careers to state service - retirees who already live on a fixed income and struggle to survive on the average annual pension of around $20,000. They've lost more than 10 percent of their buying power since 2010, and often have to choose between paying the power bill or buying medicine or food to survive because legislators have not kept their pensions up with rising costs.

Highlights, or should we say lowlights, of the budget include:

  • A pay raise of $750 or 1.5-percent of salary, whichever is greater, for state employees. Anyone making less than $50,000 will receive just $750. That's $62.50 a paycheck, or just 39 cents an hour - BEFORE TAXES ARE TAKEN!
  • No retiree cost-of-living adjustment or one-time bonus.
  • A $1 billion tax cut, most of which will go to the rich and the corporations in this state and won't benefit working families.
  • Teacher pay increases that far outpace that for state employees, ranging from 3.5 percent up to 9 percent in some cases.
  • Full funding for the state retirement system and State Health Plan, but ends the promise of health care coverage in retirement for new hires.
  • Elimination of 69 vacant Adult Corrections positions and another 196 DPS nursing positions at a time when more officers are desperately needed, certainly not less.
  • Further outsourcing of Department of Transportation pre-construction work despite any evidence that it saves taxpayer dollars, and plenty of evidence to the contrary.
  • Moves Capitol Police from under State Highway Patrol to the Department of Public Safety.
  • Closure of the Wright School in Durham, a perennial candidate for cuts.
  • $363 million for the "Rainy Day Fund," or state reserves.

As SEANC President Stanley Drewery stated Tuesday, for thousands of state employee and retiree families in this state, it's raining. In fact, it's been raining for almost a decade. Legislators are working with a budget surplus of more than $580 million this year. Surely they can do better by state employees and retirees.

The Senate plans to push the budget quickly through, with a final vote planned for Friday. The time is now to contact your Senators to tell them that without significant changes, this proposal is unacceptable and they should vote against it. You can click here to locate their contact information.

It's important to note that the Senate's budget proposal is simply another step in the annual budget process. We feel confident that we can work with the N.C. House to properly recognize the hard work and sacrifices of state employees and retirees with meaningful raises and COLAs.