“Gov. David Paterson's suspension of scheduled pay raises for state employees is the right decision considering the state's fiscal crisis,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.
“At a time when hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are out of work and those that are working in the private sector are not seeing raises, it is inappropriate to move forward with raises for state workers,” added Adams. “In fact, the wage freeze should remain in effect for at least this fiscal year even when the budget is finished. We can't let our state go broke handing out poorly timed raises.”
Beyond the wage freeze, Adams called upon the Governor and the legislature to enact a hiring freeze. “A hard hiring freeze would save the state $650 million in the first year – far more than delaying raises – and it wouldn't affect current state workers so you're less likely to wind up in court. A hiring freeze is a no-brainer under these circumstances.”
These and other deficit reduction steps were outlined by The Business Council last month in a plan sent to the governor and members of the legislature. Details of that plan are available here.