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Written on: May 2nd, 2011 in Effective & Efficient Government
Collaborative Effort Will Save Taxpayers $480+M over 15 years
Wilmington, DE – Governor Jack Markell today signed into law a bipartisan effort to reign in some of the state’s fastest growing expenses – the state’s share of employee and retiree pension and health care costs. The bill will save taxpayers over $130 million in the next five years and over $480 million in the next 15 years. By focusing on reducing the costs associated with future state employees, the savings will continue to grow over time.
“When faced with challenges, Delawareans come together to get things done. Our state employees and public officials worked together to create a solution that works. While other state’s reform efforts were marked by anger and protests, Delaware’s discussions were marked by collaboration, cooperation and results,” Markell said.
After his State of the State Address, Markell formed a working group of staff from his office, his Cabinet including OMB Director Ann Visalli, representatives from each legislative caucus and the state employee unions. They were tasked with crafting a solution that would create lasting savings in pension and health care costs.
“This is the result of coordinated effort and a true compromise among all parties. We looked at every area of the pension plan and discussed them in great detail,” said Senate Majority Leader Sen. Patricia M. Blevins, D-Elsmere, who represented Senate Democrats in the meetings. “These important steps ensure that our pension fund, which already is one of the strongest in the country, remains strong and viable for years to come.”
Over weeks of meetings, the working group coalesced around the final proposal, which asks future state employees to pay 5% instead of 3% of their salary towards their pension after the first $6000 earned and increases the time required to be vested in the state pension system.
“This legislation protects the pensions of our current employees, stabilizes our pension fund, addresses the rising cost of health care and saves taxpayers nearly a half-billion dollars over 15 years. By addressing this issue now, rather than waiting, we are making our state’s economic future even stronger,” bill sponsor and House Majority Whip Rep. Valerie J. Longhurst (D-Bear) said.
For new employees, the plan also eliminates the “double state share” health care benefit for future employees and will not count overtime towards future employee pension calculations. Existing state employees will pay slightly more each month for their health care.
“Costs associated with benefits for employees have been increasing dramatically,” said Sen. Colin R.J. Bonini (R-Dover South), who represented the Senate Republican Caucus at the meetings. “This is a small, but important, step in reforming a system that will be unsustainable without us taking action.”
Based on current projections, as a result of House Bill 81, the annual cost increases for health and pension will be reduced by over 53 percent per year in the first five years. By year 15, these changes will decrease the State’s cost increases by nearly 70 percent.
The bill received broad bipartisan from both houses of the legislature and the endorsement of the public employee coalition.
“This was not only a bipartisan effort; it was the result of collaboration between the state and its employees. This agreement is recognition by all those involved that the system, as it existed, could not be sustained,” said Rep. Deborah D. Hudson, R-Fairthorne, the House Republican representative to the benefits meetings. “I was proud to be part of this process.”
Written on: April 29th, 2011 in Effective & Efficient Government, Guest Posts
Guest post by Delaware State Housing Director Anas Ben Addi
Although our economy has improved, the process of recovery continues. Many families have not yet recovered from financial hardships due to unemployment, underemployment, injury or illness. Most likely, someone you know is struggling to pay a mortgage and could lose their home.
We understand the uncertainty and stress that foreclosure can cause. That’s why the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and DSHA have teamed up to bring $6M in foreclosure assistance to keep more than 200 Delaware families in their homes through the Delaware Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (DEMAP).
DEMAP can provide up to $30,000 to pay past due mortgage, property tax and insurance payments for homeowners that have had their income reduced by 15% or more. It can also help pay future payments for up to 24 months. This assistance is recorded as a loan, but is forgiven over five years. This is great news for Delaware.
Facing foreclosure can be intimidating.
People may be scared to open their mail or answer their phone, for fear that it may be their lender asking them for payment – money they don’t have. Often, they don’t know who to call or that there is help available.
If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, please call DSHA at (888) 363-8808 to learn more about DEMAP or visit our website at www.destatehousing.com. You can also contact DEMAP housing counselors directly for assistance and a complete contact list can be found here.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out — we are here to help!
Written on: April 21st, 2011 in Guest Posts, Job Creation
Recently, I hosted Governor Markell when he visited my classroom at Christiana High School where I am a senior.
Not long ago, my fellow students probably considered me a bully and I considered myself a “wild child” because a life of drugs and crime actually attracted me.
Today, I feel like a totally different person. I am positive and hopeful about the future. It’s because of my involvement in the Jobs for Delaware Graduates program (JDG), where I am State President of the Delaware Career Association, the student organization part of JDG. My story is one that I think you would like to hear.
Special mentors, like my advisor Ms. Veronica Jones; special people like PA State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland (I used to live in PA) and a special program in Delaware, JDG, have made all the difference in my life. I am still learning more about the world and what I want to do with my life. But I have made some important decisions. I know am capable of achieving much more than I thought possible just a year ago. Because of that, I have decided I can and will go on to college to pursue my interest in communications. I just love hosting special events and being a part of something positive. And, I am ready to work hard to achieve my success.
As Governor Markell told us during the class, the job market is a lot different these days and we are competing against students not only from our own state, but from around the nation and across the world.
I feel lucky that I have learned a great deal in the Jobs for Delaware Graduates and Jobs for America’s Graduates programs. I have people supporting me as I grow.
I will be the first person in my family to go to college and I am proud of that. The Governor wanted me to share with you the speech I gave recently in Washington, D.C. at a Jobs for America’s Graduates Leadership Lunch. Here’s the video, which runs about four minutes.
Written on: April 8th, 2011 in Effective & Efficient Government, Job Creation
A store owner who wants to expand and put people to work.
A father’s pain from losing a daughter to gun violence and his resolve to protect other families from the same horror.
A loving family that wants the same protections other families have for their spouses and children.
Three critical fights we need your help to win, and one critical call – to help Delaware’s sister state of Miyagi, Japan – we need your help to answer.
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Employers will find a more engaged partner in Delaware’s state government under the New Job Creation Credit proposal that rewards companies for putting people back to work. “We now have about two hundred employees in this location alone, which serves thousands of Delawareans a week. This expanded approach should help other business owners decide to invest in their own growth as well.” |
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Lives are at stake. Despite efforts by out-of-state special-interest groups to stop these responsible measures, we will not be silenced in this fight.
After their children were shot during the tragedy at Virginia Tech, Peter Read and Andy Goddard committed themselves to fighting gun violence.
They came to Delaware to make clear that our four gun safety proposals – which received strong support from local law enforcement – are common-sense measures needed to combat gun violence.
Watch the powerful testimonial of Virginia Tech fathers in Delaware.
What’s this bill about? It’s about opportunity. It’s about rights . . . and it is about time.
Loving families deserve legal protections, but the lack of a civil union option in Delaware denies those rights to so many. The fight in the legislature to expand those protections is underway.
The bill has passed the Senate and is on the way to the House. It’s not over yet. See why I support the bill on YouTube.
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Our Sister State in Japan, Miyagi, is the area hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami. The people of Delaware have been building meaningful relationships – business to business, student to student, family to family – with Miyagi for two decades. |
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They need our help now. Here are some things you can do:
Special thanks to event sponsors: Dover Downs, The News Journal, and Delmarva Broadcasting Company.
Written on: April 7th, 2011 in Job Creation
As we work together toward stronger schools, we’re doing everything we can to develop student potential.
Today, I’m excited to sit down with a group of students in my Legislative Hall office. This organization is giving students the confidence they need to take their place in the job market, and that’s clear every time I meet with them. Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG) is helping students learn more about themselves and the world of work.
The students I’ve met through JDG understand what employers are looking for in their employees. Most of them already have part-time jobs in retail, food service and manufacturing, which is giving them real-work experiences while they build their resumes.
Jobs for Delaware Graduates is in almost every Delaware public high school. It’s a program that began under Governor duPont more than thirty years ago and has become the model for similar programs in 32 other states, all part of Jobs for America’s Graduates.
I recently agreed to chair the national board of Jobs for America’s Graduates because two of my priorities for Delaware remain creating jobs and building stronger schools. JAG and JDG do both. They help young people remove barriers to their own success, find a path forward and forge a future for themselves.
Ninety-three percent of JAG students graduate from high school and almost half of those go on to post-secondary education.
At Christiana High School, where I visited a few months ago, every JDG senior plans to graduate. When students stay in school, go on to school, find careers and ultimately, secure jobs, they become productive citizens. They create and sustain their own lives and in the process, strengthen our workforce and our future. And they are less likely to be on drugs, in prison or otherwise dependent on the state or their own families for assistance.
Maybe you know a student with a lot of potential and little direction, who, with a little help from a program like Jobs for Delaware Graduates, can change the direction of their life.
I have asked the student president of JDG’s student organization to guest blog next week, so come back to read his story.
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