Republicans and Democrats deadlocked today over whether to cut state agencies’ payrolls, days after improved revenues showed there was enough money to fund a tax break for seniors.
The partisan battle broke out during a meeting of the Joint Budget Committee, the six-member panel that writes the state’s spending plan and which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats this year.
“We can’t even vote on the things we agree on because of this issue coming up,” said a frustrated Rep. Jon Becker, R-Fort Morgan, a member of the committee.
“I don’t know why we’re trying to balance the budget on the backs of state workers,” said Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, also on the panel. “We have the money.”
Democrats want to reverse a bipartisan vote from earlier this year to cut 2 percent, or $20.3 million, from state agencies’ payrolls through cutting “vacancy savings,” or savings that result when higher paid employees leave and are replaced by cheaper ones.
Democrats on the committee had agreed to the cut in exchange for funding an increase of $15.9 million for state workers’ increased health costs instead of making the employees absorb the costs. The deal netted a $4.4 million savings.
But Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget office said the effect of the 2 percent cut, when added to previous years of vacancy savings cuts, would be the elimination of up to 500 state employees.
Democrats argued that improved state revenues, which have eliminated the need for a fight over whether to fund a nearly $100 million senior property tax break, were also ample to reverse the 2 percent cut.
The committee today repeatedly locked up on 3-3 party line votes on reversing the payroll cut. That was despite the fact that Republicans offered to do just a 1 percent cut and to fund half of the increased medical costs for state workers.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
