A union that represents state Department of Transportation engineers is urging the agency to hire more inspectors and staff to prepare for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s expected transportation proposals.
The Connecticut State Employees Association wrote in a letter to DOT Commissioner James Redeker that the department depends too heavily on outside consultants for construction engineering and inspections, due to short staffing. The union says the state’s own evaluations — which it obtained through Freedom of Information requests — show that outside consultants cost twice as much as keeping the work in house. The union provided a copy of the evaluation (see PDF link below).
The union claims the state would have saved $50 million last year if it had not farmed out such work to consultants. A hiring freeze ordered by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in November is exacerbating the shortage, the union said.
Redeker has made outsourcing some of the DOT’s work a part of his strategy for the agency.
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