$1 billion in cuts to WADOT, and no FTE's laid off?

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In yet another sign of waste, fraud and abuse, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WADOT) released their post apoclypse budget detailing what Sid intends to cut.

And you know what? They claim the loss of 1/3d of their budget... BUT THEY ARE NOT LAYING OFF A SINGLE WORKER!

What's wrong with THAT picture?

Westin

"A zebra does not change its spots." - Al Gore, attacking President George Bush in 1992.

-- Westin (86se4sp@my-deja.com), October 31, 1999

Answers

Westin:

I believe new construction and much of the major maintenance is doen by outside contractors. If they cut the major planned projects, the staff hit will be among the contractors, and not the DOT staff. They just paln what to do, and they may need as many to plan how to cope without as they did to plan how to cope with.

I would have expected some planning and design staff would be cut, since they have plans and designs for projects that will not be built for years without more funding. But that would be a marginal reduction, and nothing like the 1/3 of the staff your post implied should be expected. They still have all the same miles of highway to maintain in 2000 that they had in 1999. That work, which is their primary staff expense, will not change.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), October 31, 1999.


dbvz: O.K., so please explain why we have had a 30% cut in welfare caseload yet the DHSH department has not eliminated any FTEs.

-- Art Rathjen (liberty@coastaccess.com), October 31, 1999.

I wonder what dbvzvbdvbvd will come up for his response on that.

-- Paula (eagleross@pioneernet.net), November 01, 1999.

" please explain why we have had a 30% cut in welfare caseload yet the DHSH department has not eliminated any FTEs. " Easy. In the civil service system, your grade is largely dependent on the number and grades of those you supervise (and your budget line). You try REAL HARD to hold on to every FTE, and to up-grade the positions whenever possible. That's how YOU continue to get promoted.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 01, 1999.

Art:

Actually, I don't have a clue about DSHS. They will have to defend themselves. Craig may be right on this one. I could speculate that someone did a study and found that they were grossly over-booked before the 30% reduction in cases; so it just got them to the point they could do the job effectively. Just a guess, but a look at cases per case worker throughout the U.S. would be good information to use if you want to look into this further.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), November 01, 1999.



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