SC Government Employees Getting Bonuses?
Despite plummeting state revenues and a worsening economic climate, five dozen government employees in South Carolina recently received bonuses totaling nearly $50,000, according to documents obtained by FITSNews.
Ironically, some of the folks receiving bonus payments are employed by the State Housing Authority, which is obviously the last place we should be rewarding people given the government-inspired collapse of our nation’s housing market over the last few months.
But according to the documents we were provided, thirteen employees at the Housing Authority each received bonuses of $1,000 each, while additional bonuses went to employees at DHEC (19 bonuses totaling $13,550), the State Budget & Control Board (16 bonuses totaling $4,550), the Office of Regulatory Staff (6 bonuses totaling $7,000), DHHS (2 bonuses totaling $2,800) and the State Forestry Commission (2 bonuses totaling $1,000).
Also, one employee at the Department of Mental Health received a $3,000 bonus (the largest individual bonus awarded) while an employee at the Department of Insurance received a bonus of $1,000.
Obviously, the news of even a small amount of “bonus money” being awarded in such a tight revenue situation was not well-received by conservative lawmakers.
“For years now, reformers in the legislature have been calling for sanity in state spending,” said S.C. Rep. Eric Bedingfield. “Now, in the face of dire economic consequences, the legislature will have to go into special session to make drastic and painful cuts to the state budget. Considering these challenges, we need to hear an explanation from these department heads about the rationale for this decision.”
“Now more than ever, it is critical that we bring spending under control and significantly decrease the size of government,” Bedingfield added.
Comments
By Lee Sill on October 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
This cannot be true! If so, this is unbelievably ridiculous and is not fair to the thousands hard working people in this state who are struggling right now.
By Eric on October 11th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
What crap this is…
A bonus at a time like this is crap…
Many folk in SC are frantic about losing thier jobs and the state is handing out extra cash.
This is crap.
By Poppy on October 11th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
This is very bad timing. What were they thinking.
The housing authority is a mess anyway…I say Sic goes over and cleans the place up!
By Catherine on October 11th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Seriously? In the midst of millions of lost revenue this is what worries you? From experience as a director, bonus money has to come from current funds, only for something exceptional and is, after all, a one-time cash payment. So an employee is awarded a $1000 bonus that amounts to about $600 after taxes, and these are the people you pick on? Come on… get back to the SCRA, the economic “development” packages, the “grants” awarded to festivals. I promise you we’re wasting millions, but this isn’t the place to focus.
By Poppy on October 12th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Catherine…
Waste is waste. In these times people should be thankful to have jobs, not looking for additional pay from the taxpayer.
And a bonus can be paid at anytime during the year. So this is one set of them…how many more are paid that we don’t know a thing about?
We need to cut back…way back. This is but one way.
By Sharon on October 12th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Usually for a state employee a bonus is bad news because it takes the place of a long-denied raise that might have brought you a little closer to keeping up with inflation for once.
Now because they got a crappy little one-time bonus, they can wait another three years for their next shot at a “raise”.
The only way a state employee can avoid seeing their salary eroded by inflation and other rising costs is to get a raise by changing jobs.
By Sharon on October 12th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Also regarding state employees being thankful to have their jobs instead of groveling for a one-time bonus . . . well anyone should be thankful to have a job. But in the private sector, treating your employees like crap is generally not good business because you drive out anybody who is actually worth something. It’s no different in the public sector; it’s still a bad way to operate an organization.
It’s not so much the terrible pay that drives (some) people out of state government work, it’s the way you’re treated like a criminal.
By curious on October 13th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Will, lets see the list, then we can judge the merits of these bonuses ourselves.