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State Representative Mike Benson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4378
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
REP. BENSON SUPPORTS BILL TO RESTRUCTURE STATE GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE
ST. PAUL – Recognizing that state government is growing at an unsustainable rate, State Representative Mike Benson (R-Rochester) is supporting a proposal that would reduce the size and cost of the state government workforce 15 percent by the year 2015.
“We need to take a long, hard look at our government workforce and determine how to make it smaller and more efficient,” Benson said. “And let’s be clear, the goal of this bill isn’t to fire five thousand employees over the next five years. This legislation focuses on downsizing the workforce without firing anyone.”
Benson said the bill identifies that the state government workforce is aging, and drives reform, redesign and reduced costs by requiring the governor to right-size the executive-branch workforce through a combination of attrition, early retirement, furloughs, wage freezes and benefit restructuring.
“In four years, half of the current workforce will be 60 years of age or older,” Benson said. “Now is the perfect opportunity to analyze if the work they perform now can be performed by other workers who remain after those folks retire or voluntarily leave. If we simply rehire those positions, the unsustainable spending continues.”
“With our continued budget deficits, we have to look at ways to be more cost efficient to the taxpayer,” Benson added. “When someone leaves their job in the real world, often times a company will ask current employees to take on some of their former employee’s workload. State government should be no different.”
Benson said estimates show that the 15 x 15 bill would likely save Minnesota more than $300 million in its first year alone.
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