Letters demonstrate ?stonewall? between Democrats and GOP over state workers? pay

Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, says the way the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration could do a better job of calculating pay scales.

Republicans and Democrats are taking sides over the credibility of the salary survey that helps determine whether state employees are paid on par with others in the same jobs, and it?s usually the best argument for legislators to grant raises.

Wednesday the Democrats who control the powerful Joint Budget Committee issued a letter firing back at a letter last week by the Senate Republican caucus that accused the state Department of Personnel and Administration of doing a poor job with the survey and disregarding the law.

?There have been several reports over the past year that indicate that the Colorado salary survey conducted by your office has not been conducted according to best practices, or according to statutory requirements for determination and comparisons of total compensation,? the Republicans wrote in the July 19 letter to the agency?s executive director, Kathy Nesbitt.

In their own letter, dated Wednesday, Joint Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Steadman of Denver, vice chairwoman Rep. Claire Levy of Boulder, and committee members Rep. Crisanta Duran of Denver and Sen. Mary Hodge of Brighton said no change in the survey?s methodology is necessary.

The Republicans? view ?does not represent the majority opinion of the members of the Joint Budget Committee, nor does it reflect actual problems with how the annual salary survey is conducted by the Department,? the letter states. ?As such, it should not change the methodology of the Department in conducting its salary survey.?

The Democrats? letter adds, ?In short, there is no evidence to support the Senate Republicans? position that the Department conducts its salary surveys following anything other than industry and government norms, best practices and its statutory requirements.?

?That?s absolutely false, and the audit report says it?s absolutely false,? said state Sen. Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, the first name on the Republicans? letter.

He said the Republican position directly reflects the most recent state audit of the survey and other public data.

An audit presented to the Legislative Audit Committee in June provided 11 recommendations for improving the survey. The first line under ?key facts and findings? is, ?The Department?s methodology for comparing state salaries to the market does not follow industry best practices ??

The audit also said the state wasn?t considering the full range of benefits its employees get when calculating full compensation, though, according to the audit, ?State statute defines total compensation as including salary, group benefit plans, retirement benefits, merit pay, incentives, premium pay practices, and leave.?

Steadman could not be reached immediately for comment. Levy said she hasn?t read the latest audit, but, ?We have a briefing every year on the salary survey and methodology, and the questions I?ve had on that methodology have been answered to my satisfaction.?

Lambert did not sound hopeful that either letter would have much impact.

?There has been a real stonewall on this,? he said. ?We?ve been talking about this for a very long time.?

During hearings in November, the Department of Personnel and Administration will make a budget recommendation to the JBC, which will in turn make a recommendation the full General Assembly and governor for payroll spending in the 2014-2015 fiscal year. The General Assembly granted a 2-percent pay raise in the last session, their first increase in four years. The salary survey last year indicated state workers would need a 7.2 percent hike to get on par with counterparts in the private sector.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dp-spot-politics/~3/zI-qnk7C6tc/

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