While staffing levels were lowest since ’80s, governor’s office grew
Gov. Chris Christie’s austere budgets and health and pension reforms prompted workers to retire. TRENTON — Staffing levels at departments across state government are at their lowest levels in decades, according to a new report.
The report by the Civil Service Commission paints a picture of a state work force depleted by a prolonged bad economy and a massive wave of retirements. It also shows the historic declines began under the Corzine administration and were accelerated by Gov. Chris Christie’s austere budgets and health and pension reforms that prompted workers to retire.
The dwindling numbers leave staffing levels in some critical departments — such as Health, Environmental Protection and Education — at levels not seen since the 1980s, figures show.
Advocates say this hampers the state’s ability to act as a safety net on a wide array of important issues. But others say the numbers reflect a new sobriety in state government.
"We have to deliver smarter government," said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), the ranking Republican on the Assembly Budget Committee. "Smaller government is not always better, but government was obviously too big."
The report, released annually, provides a statistical snapshot of the state’s work force, offering such details as average salaries as well as ethnic and gender makeup.
At the end of 2010, there were 76,956 state employees in all three branches of government, the lowest since 2002 and roughly 3,000 less than when Christie took office in January 2010.
Kevin Roberts, a Christie spokesman, said the governor has aggressively managed the state’s workforce by building budgets from scratch and not compromising delivery of essential services. He said the reductions have almost exclusively come through attrition, not layoffs.
"Our focus is on making government more accountable and more efficient in its use of taxpayer dollars, which has in turn allowed us to streamline the size of the state workforce," Roberts said.
The Department of Environmental Protection has seen some of the largest staff reductions in recent years, going from a high of 3,494 workers in 2006 to 2,882 by the end of last year, figures show. The last time the DEP had this few workers was 1986.
Jeff Tittel, president of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said he believes the cuts are the result of political ideology, contending that Christie is loosening regulations to satisfy the business community.
Jeff Tittel, director of New Jersey Sierra Club believes the cuts are the result of political ideology, contending that Christie is loosening regulations to satisfy the business community. "What we’re seeing is a death by a thousand cuts," said Tittel. "Not only are these cuts bad for the environment, they are also bad for the economy. Not only are regulations being peeled back 25 years, I guess the workforce is too."
The Department of Education, which is responsible for monitoring school districts, has been reducing staff for years and was down to 789 employees last year, its lowest level in at least three decades, figures show. A 2007 state report critical of the department said it was not properly staffed and was poorly organized to handle the task of policing school districts.
At 1,691 employees, the Department of Health and Senior Services is at its lowest level since 1996. From January 2009 to the end of 2010, it shed nearly 9 percent of its jobs.
Paul Langevin, president of the New Jersey Association of Health Care Facilities, which represents nursing homes, said the reduced staffing at the department has not interfered with business, other than the state pushing some deadlines back.
But he said the diminished staffing levels should prompt lawmakers to pause before pushing legislation.
"I would love anyone in the state to say we are going to do less with less," said Langevin. "Every year we pass more regulations, more laws and now we have less workforce."
Other departments that saw significant decreases include Law and Public Safety, which includes the attorney general’s office; and Corrections, which shed more than 1,000 jobs in the past two years due in large part to the closing of prisons.
One of the few places in state government that actually saw an increase in employees is the governor’s office, which at 120 is at its highest since 2006 but still below historic levels.
Roberts said the increase of 12 employees under Christie reflects staff assigned to the newly created office of lieutenant governor and to the first lady.
Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, said the poor economy forced companies and state and local governments to be more disciplined and demand more out of workers. But he said that efficiency has its breaking point.
"There are only so many hours and so many extra jobs that you can ask workers to take on before productivity begins to fade," said Naroff. "But until the economy rebounds, there will be no money to hire people back."
The report also showed that while the size of state government shrinks, salaries are going up. In 2006, the average state worker earned $54,274. Last year, the average was $65,179.
It also found:
• Roughly 30 percent of state employees are black, about double the percentage of blacks living in the state. About 9 percent are Hispanic.
• Woman make up 56 percent of the state workforce.
• Most state workers, about 19 percent, earn from $45,000 to $55,000. A little more than 5,000 employees, or 7 percent, earn six-figure salaries.
• The average state worker is 46 years old and has worked in state government for 13 years.
• Nearly 90 percent of state workers are unionized