Get The State Worker Bee newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday
This is a preview of our weekly State Worker Bee newsletter. Subscribers receive exclusive tidbits like this one, as well as a weekly roundup of all our state worker coverage. Sign up here . Have a tip? Email wmelhado@sacbee.com .
Hoping to achieve $2.1 billion in savings next year, California recently laid out the steps departments can take to cut the fat from their budgets.
The largest cost saving measure is the elimination of approximately 10,000 vacant positions . Removing the thousands of unfilled jobs from departments’ budgets beginning in 2025 is expected to save California $1.5 billion, nearly half of which the state hopes will come from the General Fund.
To address the shortfall, which Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration recently estimated to be roughly $47 billion, this year’s budget package included two actions: the elimination of vacant jobs and cutting state operations costs by nearly 8%.
In an August memo , the Department of Finance issued guidance on how to eliminate empty positions to ensure the workload is spread evenly across departments.
“Departments should also review post-pandemic workforce needs and allow for attrition for any activities and tasks no longer necessary due to technology advances,” the memo read.
In a budget letter distributed to staff across the state, the Finance Department said agencies should not implement layoffs to save money. The memo noted that agencies cannot initiate early retirement to achieve reductions.
The State Worker Bee newsletter is back!
Sign up here to get our weekly newsletter for California employees.
Additional personnel-related budget saving measures suggested by the Finance Department included internal hiring freezes and reducing the use of temporary positions. The memo also recommended departments eliminate buy-back for accrued vacation or annual leave for those not protected by union contracts.
Based on the reduction guidance, some are skeptical California will be able to achieve the 8% spending cut the state is aiming for.
“Considering personnel costs are such a large component of the state’s General Fund operating expenditures, it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to achieve a full savings that are assumed in the budget without some sort of effect on personnel,” said Nick Schroeder, an analyst with the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office who specializes in public employment.
The Finance Department also urged leaders of state agencies to reduce spending on non-personnel related measures. Those included eliminating landline phones and unnecessary cell phones; reducing printing and furniture purchases; and minimizing non-critical travel expenses.
“It’s hard to picture those small items all adding up to the 8%,” Schroeder said.
The state analyst said it would be especially difficult for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make the proposed reductions given that so much of its budget is personnel cost. While most of the budget reduction is spread across departments, the budget explicitly requires CDCR to reduce its budget by $392 million, the LAO reported last month .
In January, the Finance Department will report to the Legislature on the amount of money the state hopes to save through these actions.
Local News
