Size of DOT workforce goes down as state relies more on costly consultants

ALBANY, NY (06/05/2012)(readMedia)-- The Department of Transportation (DOT) is one of the top four agencies that relies on consultants to do work state employees can do for less. And, the state is continuing toward a costly pattern of hiring more consultants while allowing the number of DOT employees to hit an all time low.

"Staffing levels at DOT have hit a historic low point, decreasing by more than 16 percent since 2008," said PEF President Ken Brynien. "Yet spending on costly consultants has increased at a time when the state can least afford to be wasting millions of taxpayer dollars."

PEF's latest report on taxpayer waste, "The Road to Saving $90 Million," reveals the state can save more than $90 million annually by replacing most of its DOT consultants with state employees, including the cost of benefits.

DOT engineering consultants in particular are costing the state more. Consulting engineers bill DOT at an average hourly rate of $102 per hour compared to the DOT hourly rate of $58.36, including benefits. By paying this higher rate the state is wasting nearly $99,000 every time a full-time consultant engineer is hired instead of a state employee engineer.

"We are calling on the state Division of Budget (DOB) to direct DOT to immediately begin to have all state employee engineers and technicians do 90 percent of bridge inspection work in-house by 2014-15," Brynien said. "This is one of the fastest growing categories of DOT consultant spending and it is regularly scheduled routine work that our members can easily do at far less cost to the state."

PEF is continuing to push the Senate to pass the cost-benefit analysis bill (S3093-A/A5128-B) sponsored by Senator Joe Robach and Assemblyman Harry Bronson. The bill, which has already passed the Assembly, requires state agencies to do a cost comparison to determine whether state employees could do the same work at a lower cost.

PEF is the state's second-largest state-employee union, representing 54,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

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