Colorado state employees make pitch for pay - Denver Business Journal:

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billion in tax exemptions that the stats offers in order to improvre pay and health carefor state-governmenty workers. The request came two weeks afted an audit stated that Colorado state employees make an average of 7 percenrt more than people working similar jobs in the public orprivatr sectors. And it came just hours aftefr the JBC learned that it must closea $384 milliohn shortfall in the state budgegt for the fiscal year that beginx July 1. The final budge for the 2009-10 fiscal year requires state employeexs to takea 1.82 percent cut in personal compensation.
Employees are expectec to take four furlough days during the fiscalp year and are looking at other ways to hit the totalcompensationm reduction, said Scott Wasserman, political directore for Colorado Wins, the state workers’ But Sheldon Reneau, a sergeant with the state’xs La Vista prison, warned that the hiring freeze that is in placre has led to mandatoryy overtime and lower staffing levels than thosw that are recommended in Department of Corrections guidelines. And Terrg Campbell of the Association of Colorado State Patrool Professionals warned that the state could find itsel losing its best and brightest employees if it does not do somethingt to improvecompensation packages.
JBC Vice Chairman Jack Pommer, a Democratic representativse from Boulder, questioned how employee s expect tosee multimillion-dolladr increases in pay or benefits at a time when the state is looking at cutting valuable programs. “Were you guys here todaty for ourcurrent forecast?” Pommer aske d a quartet of statre workers’ representatives speaking to the JBC. “If this is a discussioh about the nextfew years, it’sx so far out of the ballparki that I’m having a hard time figuring what you’re working But Mark Schwane, general counsel for Coloradl Wins, said that the Legislatur should consider cutting tax exemptions now giveh to businesses and individuals.
Althouggh Schwane did not specif which tax exemptions shouldbe cut, the eliminationh of some could generate more than $100 The largest tax exemptions, according to 2006 numbers, are those for tangible property that becomes an ingredient in a manufactured product ($507 million), sales of groceries ($214.6 and gasoline sales ($179. million). Wasserman said Colorado Wins does not want to eliminates the grocerytax exemption.