Although the state anticipates hiring about 1,200 new workers to replace the more than 3,500 who accepted a retirement incentive deal carved out by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and state labor unions, some agencies are reeling from the loss of key, senior-level personnel.
Several state agencies recently began posting job openings and are reassigning current staff to fill where the retirements of key personnel left a substantial gap. The state comptroller’s office says in total 3,819 workers have recently retired.
The projected $110 million in savings this fiscal year through the retirement incentive plan took into consideration that the state would need to hire — or refill — about 25 percent to 33 percent of the vacated positions, said Jeffrey Beckham, undersecretary for legislative affairs for the state’s Office of Policy and Management.
Beckham also said that the anticipated cost savings, which was based on 3,000 accepting the retirement incentive, included the cost to rehire some retirees for up to 120 days to ensure a smooth transition.
However, the loss of specialized expertise won’t be quickly remedied by their replacements. The state Division of Criminal Justice lost two of its three forensic fraud examiners to retirement. It also lost two top personnel from its Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Bureau: the supervisory assistant state’s attorney and the supervisory inspector.
Although just 33 retired from the criminal justice unit, which employs about 525, many of those who retired held senior-level positions, including a senior prosecutor who left behind nearly 200 habeas cases, in which defendants serving sentences are attempting to have their convictions set aside on legal grounds, said the agency’s spokesman Mark Dupuis.
“Obviously, the departure of so many highly experienced employees with centuries of combined service will leave a tremendous vacuum that the division must seek to fill,” Dupuis said.
At the state Department of Developmental Services — formerly called the Department of Mental Retardation — client caseloads of the 40 case workers who retired have been reassigned. In a June 10 statement, the agency said that in an effort to maintain manageable caseloads, it would no longer accept cases of individuals who live in private intermediate care facilities or individuals not enrolled in the fee-for-service Medicaid program.
The DDS saw 395 retirements, second only to the state Department of Correction, where 425 retired. Although DOC plans to hire a new cadet class of 120 corrections officers along with 10 support staff, several key agency leaders retired, including DOC Commissioner Theresa Lantz and, Deputy Commissioner Brian Murphy, who is currently serving as acting commissioner under the 120-day provision, said DOC spokesman Brian Garnett.
At the state’s universities and community colleges, more than 200 professors accepted the early retirement offer.
At the University of Connecticut, of the 211 who retired, 63 were professors. “The university is currently determining which vacancies must be filled, taking both need and budget into account,” said UConn spokesman Michael Kirk.
The State University System — Western, Eastern, Southern and Central Connecticut State universities — counted 78 teaching faculty retirements. It also lost three deans, four vice presidents and one, senior-level executive, said spokesman Terri Raimondi.
At the state’s 12 community colleges, 74 faculty retired, about 8 percent of its 812 teaching staff.
The loss of core staff was also felt at the state Department of Public Safety, where 126 troopers retired including five in top-level leadership positions, said DPH spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance.
A recent class of 61 new officers will help offset the retirements, Vance said, adding, “You’ve got to make it work. Obviously, some overtime is involved, but we’re making do with what we have.”
At the state Department of Labor, 15 division heads retired, said agency spokeswoman Nancy Steffens. Prior to the retirements, DOL counted 890 employees of which 710 were federally funded positions, she added.
Beckham of OPM said that the state has not yet determined the final cost or savings of the retirement incentive plan. Pension cost valuations are conducted by actuaries every few years and because such an evaluation costs money, the state “will not know for some time what the precise cost will be. Notably, the state’s pension obligation is based on workers eligible to retire and they have already been counted as part of the state’s obligation.
