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| State Police Can't Expect a Special Pass |
| By lansingstatejournal.com |
| Published: 07/07/2009 |
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State police can't expect a special pass Saying no to cuts isn't much of a budget strategy July 7, 2009-From Lansing State Journal The union that represents the rank-and-file of the Michigan State Police is going for broke. Rather than a smaller shared sacrifice to allow the re-employment of 100 fellow troopers, the union is offering state leaders no compromise at all. That's unfortunate, especially since state lawmakers really are in no position to cut special deals with this particular group of state employees. Sacrifices are being made everywhere (if you don't look too hard under the Capitol dome), and this includes the state police. That was the recommendation of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, which was endorsed by the members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Yet, the head of the troopers union, Mike Moorman, said in a press release after the union vote, "Whether 100 troopers are laid off or 1,569 of our members take furlough time, the result is still the same; it's troopers off the street. ... This exacerbates the already dangerously reduced level of public safety. Governor Granholm and some of our lawmakers have clearly done a disservice to Michigan's citizens." To bolster their argument, the union detailed a number of previous sacrifices made by troopers in previous fiscal crises, such as a donation of $400,000 in 2007. The trouble here is that practically every category of state worker - other than legislator - can point to similar sacrifices. One of the under-reported stories out of Lansing is the fundamental shift in state employment. In 1970, there were 45,742 state employees. In 2008, there were 50,799. Government has grown in all aspects, right? Not really. Read more. |
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