Look to long-term reforms to save Michigan government money

By Cindy Estrada and Phil Thompson

We can all agree that Michigan must change to thrive and return to prosperity. Organizations representing 35,000 state employees are leading the way in creating new solutions, new ways of thinking and new collaborations that will take Michigan on this new path.

Three months ago, we presented Gov. Rick Snyder with well-researched recommendations to save Michigan taxpayers at least $185 million this year alone and protect the services all Michigan residents depend on.

The “New Solutions for Michigan” report laid out clear, common sense steps that Lansing can take immediately to create a leaner, more efficient state government. These are best practices like those that Ford Motor Co. and other private sector companies have used to cut waste and become competitive again. Ford, working with the UAW, successfully reinvented itself, and Michigan can, too, if we are smart and act soon.

Yet, despite his promises to review the report, the Governor and his administration still have not acted on these opportunities to create the “value for money” government that he insists he wants.

In the meantime, Service Employees International Union Local 517M; UAW Local 6000, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25; Michigan Corrections Officers; and Michigan State Employees Association continue to lead the charge for change that benefits our state. We recently committed to a coordinated bargaining arrangement that represents a historic shift in the way labor unions work with the administration. We agree with the Governor that state government needs to be more efficient and streamlined, and we are doing our part.

Now it is time for the Governor to do his.

We ask that he act immediately on the reforms listed in the New Solutions Report. The highlights include:

• Reduce the number of managers at state agencies. Michigan’s workforce is extremely top-heavy; the basic staff-to-management ratio is 5.87 to 1, meaning there are only 5.87 workers per manager or supervisor. The private sector and other states focus their resources more directly on customer service. Texas, for example, requires a ratio of 11 to 1. Improving Michigan’s ratio by just 1 – to 6:87 to 1 – will save at least $75 million this year alone.
• Pursue better value from contractors, consultants and agency staff by pursuing 10% cost savings on third-party contracts. The estimated savings would be at least $110 million just this year.
• Work together to deliver better customer services by involving frontline workers and managers in collaborative, outcome-oriented performance improvement strategies.

State employees are on the frontlines every day, seeing critical opportunities to save money so the state can avoid the cuts that are hurting Michigan’s residents and communities. We are social workers who help families through tough times and keep kids safe, prison guards who protect our communities by keeping dangerous criminals behind bars, 911 operators who send police or firefighters to save us when our lives are in danger and much more.

Michigan state employees have made roughly $4 billion in concessions over the past decade to address state budget cuts, and the state workforce is at least 25 percent smaller than it was 20 years ago. Cuts are not the answer.

For nearly three decades state employees have been making the case that only lasting reforms like the ones we have suggested will create the lean, efficient government that Michigan’s taxpayers and families deserve.

Cindy Estrada is International Vice President with the UAW. Phil Thompson is Executive Vice President of SEIU Local 517M. This opinion piece originally appeared in the Aug. 29, 2011, edition of the Detroit Free Press.