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

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billion in tax exemptions that the state offers in order to improve pay and healthj carefor state-government workers. The request came two weekw after an audit stated that Colorad o state employees make an average of 7 percent more than peopl working similar jobs in the public orprivatee sectors. And it came just hourz after the JBC learned that it must closea $384 million shortfall in the statee budget for the fiscap year that begins July 1. The finao budget for the 2009-10 fiscapl year requires state employees to takea 1.82 percenyt cut in personal compensation.
Employees are expected to take four furlougg days during the fiscal year and are looking at othe r ways to hit the totaolcompensation reduction, said Scott Wasserman, political director for Coloradi Wins, the state workers’ union. But Sheldon a sergeant with the state’s La Vista warned that the hiring freez that is in place has led to mandatory overtimew and lower staffing levels than those that are recommended in Department ofCorrections guidelines. And Terr y Campbell of the Association of Coloradoi State Patrol Professionals warned that the statre could find itself losing its best and brightesft employees if it does not do somethinb to improvecompensation packages.
JBC Vice Chairman Jack Pommer, a Democraticv representative from Boulder, questioned how employeesx expect tosee multimillion-dollar increases in pay or benefits at a time when the statde is looking at cutting valuable programs. “Were you guys here todayu for our current Pommer asked a quartet ofstate workers’ representatives speaking to the JBC. “I this is a discussion about the nextfew it’s so far out of the ballpark that I’mk having a hard time figuring what you’res working toward.” But Mark general counsel for Colorado Wins, said that the Legislaturee should consider cutting tax exemptions now given to businesses and individuals.
Althouggh Schwane did not specifyt which tax exemptions shouldbe cut, the elimination of some coul generate more than $100 million. The largest tax exemptions, according to 2006 are those for tangible property that becomese an ingredient in a manufacturedproduct ($507y million), sales of groceries ($214.6 and gasoline sales ($179.2 million). Wasserman said Colorado Wins does not want to eliminats the grocerytax