$5M Cowboy Joe Club match

[elfletcho]

I have several good friends who work in law enforcement in a certain Wyoming county, and to a man, they all agree that between the county and the county seat, they are about 30-35% overstaffed. One of them has accrued nearly 3 months of vacation over five years while two others are sitting on over sixty days. Not one of them works more than forty hours in a given week, in fact most of them say they are scraping to hit thirty-five. That's just five employees in two offices in one county. There is definitely bloat in the public payrolls, as there always is when boom cycles turn to bust. It would be very easy to find about $2.5M through staff adjustments and extended liability buyouts statewide. More than likely, one could find the full $5M with some sharpened pencils and business calculators.

We all have stories. Here in Albany County the sheriff's office isn't overstaffed, just the opposite, and they sure aren't overpaid (not mention that's a county issue, not a state issue).

But, the point is that when they're looking to cut $150 - 200mm (or whatever it is) from the state budget, this sure isn't A. just a UW issue, and B. going to be an easy sell.

To say ACSO is mismanaged would be an understatement. They hired a guy no serious law enforcement agency in the U.S. would touch. Derrick Colling's got no business having the authority to arrest or shoot to kill.

O'Malley's way past optimal. He still clings to what everyone knows is a false narrative about Laramie's most infamous crime.

There are more LE in Laramie than any other city in this state. Between the UWPD, LPD, ACSO, and the WHP I think they got it covered. You could cut 1/2 of those guys and still be overstaffed.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

I'm not in tune enough with politics or economics, but I once read an article related to retirements. If all government employees (state and federal) utilized private (i.e. stocks, real estate, etc.) retirement funds rather than taxpayer backed retirements, the savings would be astronomical long-term but definitely not a short-term fix.

 

[SnowyRange]

I believe this is what the "Rainey Day Fund Account" is there for. I don't think they should use it all - and they won't because the balance is in the billions - but this state has ratholed money (hidden) in more accounts than they will ever admit to.

No kidding. They're obsessive about both hiding and adding to those accounts. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the legislature both cuts $150mm from the budget AND adds more money to the rainy day funds.

 

[LanderPoke]

I have several good friends who work in law enforcement in a certain Wyoming county, and to a man, they all agree that between the county and the county seat, they are about 30-35% overstaffed. One of them has accrued nearly 3 months of vacation over five years while two others are sitting on over sixty days. Not one of them works more than forty hours in a given week, in fact most of them say they are scraping to hit thirty-five. That's just five employees in two offices in one county. There is definitely bloat in the public payrolls, as there always is when boom cycles turn to bust. It would be very easy to find about $2.5M through staff adjustments and extended liability buyouts statewide. More than likely, one could find the full $5M with some sharpened pencils and business calculators.

We all have stories. Here in Albany County the sheriff's office isn't overstaffed, just the opposite, and they sure aren't overpaid (not mention that's a county issue, not a state issue).

But, the point is that when they're looking to cut $150 - 200mm (or whatever it is) from the state budget, this sure isn't A. just a UW issue, and B. going to be an easy sell.

To say ACSO is mismanaged would be an understatement. They hired a guy no serious law enforcement agency in the U.S. would touch. Derrick Colling's got no business having the authority to arrest or shoot to kill.

O'Malley's way past optimal. He still clings to what everyone knows is a false narrative about Laramie's most infamous crime.

There are more LE in Laramie than any other city in this state. Between the UWPD, LPD, ACSO, and the WHP I think they got it covered. You could cut 1/2 of those guys and still be overstaffed.

Oh my gosh. I can't believe how many law enforcement officials we have here in Laramie. There's at least twice too many. All they do is write traffic tickets and eat donuts. Don't get me started on firefighters, either.

 

[LanderPoke]

I'm not in tune enough with politics or economics, but I once read an article related to retirements. If all government employees (state and federal) utilized private (i.e. stocks, real estate, etc.) retirement funds rather than taxpayer backed retirements, the savings would be astronomical long-term but definitely not a short-term fix.

Unfunded pension liabilities is a huge issue in the public sector. In my opinion this is a big reason why the the Federal government and many municipalities are in debt billions and trillions of dollars. Public employees, especially federal and also State of Wyoming employees have benefits that are typically FAR better than what you would find in the private sector. The amount government entities pay out in benefits is extravagant, unnecessary and most importantly unsustainable. I'm of the opinion that a public sector employee should never have benefits that are better than a private sector employee in a comparable job - there's no risk for a public sector worker, money's always going to be there so why should public sector employees be rewarded with massive pensions and awesome health care for assuming no risk and generating no money for the economy?

 

[SnowyRange]

Unfunded pension liabilities is a huge issue in the public sector. In my opinion this is a big reason why the the Federal government and many municipalities are in debt billions and trillions of dollars. Public employees, especially federal and also State of Wyoming employees have benefits that are typically FAR better than what you would find in the private sector. The amount government entities pay out in benefits is extravagant, unnecessary and most importantly unsustainable. I'm of the opinion that a public sector employee should never have benefits that are better than a private sector employee in a comparable job - there's no risk for a public sector worker, money's always going to be there so why should public sector employees be rewarded with massive pensions and awesome health care for assuming no risk and generating no money for the economy?

Well, some states do underfund their pension liabilities, that's true. And it's also true that public employees as a general matter get better benefits, in exchange for lower pay.

But, in any event, it really shouldn't be a matter of trying to tear down public employees. It should be a matter of building up private sector employees. Otherwise it's a race to the bottom.

 

[HR_Poke]

The last time the legislature imposed across the board cuts they still put several hundred million into the rainy day fund. How does that make any sense? You have a surplus but make across the board cuts in every state agency including the university just so you don't have to dip into the money you've allocated to go into the rainy day fund. The legislature in Wyoming is too busy trying to out conservative each other and screw over the general population.

 

[Wyovanian]

The last time the legislature imposed across the board cuts they still put several hundred million into the rainy day fund. How does that make any sense? You have a surplus but make across the board cuts in every state agency including the university just so you don't have to dip into the money you've allocated to go into the rainy day fund. The legislature in Wyoming is too busy trying to out conservative each other and screw over the general population.

What they really need to do is get away from the "stuff it in the mattress" mentality and look at putting more of it to work with either market investment, capital investment, or, perhaps, a bit of both. Money makes money only when it's put to use.

 

[Lost Poke]

I'm not in tune enough with politics or economics, but I once read an article related to retirements. If all government employees (state and federal) utilized private (i.e. stocks, real estate, etc.) retirement funds rather than taxpayer backed retirements, the savings would be astronomical long-term but definitely not a short-term fix.

Unfunded pension liabilities is a huge issue in the public sector. In my opinion this is a big reason why the the Federal government and many municipalities are in debt billions and trillions of dollars. Public employees, especially federal and also State of Wyoming employees have benefits that are typically FAR better than what you would find in the private sector. The amount government entities pay out in benefits is extravagant, unnecessary and most importantly unsustainable. I'm of the opinion that a public sector employee should never have benefits that are better than a private sector employee in a comparable job - there's no risk for a public sector worker, money's always going to be there so why should public sector employees be rewarded with massive pensions and awesome health care for assuming no risk and generating no money for the economy?

The problem with the pensions is that they are defined benefit plans, and require a larger population of working people to at least partially fund those who are retired. That assumption worked until the '90s, when the baby boom generation was bigger than Gen X/Y/etc. Private companies were able to convert out of them to defined contribution plans (401k, IRA) that remove all liability from the company. The public sector can't really do that very easily for political reasons.

 

[laxwyo]

Our company slowly chipped away pensions in favor of 401k. The pension has been frozen at whatever you're currently entitled to. You're a moron if you'd want a pension of a nicely matched 401k