Governor Kate Brown
RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
Oregon risks a shortened school year, larger class sizes, and reduced services to . the most vulnerable. To protect Oregonians from these cuts, we must better manage government services and ensure we have adequate revenue.
Public Employees Retirement Systems Task Force
The State of Oregon must find options to pay down the Public Employees Retirement Systems Unfunded Actuarial Liability (UAL). This is the main cost driver behind increasing employer rates, but those costs are retiree legacy costs that have accumulated because of actions of past legislatures and PERS board decisions. Benefits changes and cost sharing won’t address that portion of PERS costs. A PERS taskforce of financial experts, PERS and Oregon Investment Commission Board members, public employees, and public employers will review and report by November 1, 2017: • Funding options to create $5 billion in payments to the UAL. • State assets and the assets of other public employers that could be sold, bonded against, or leveraged. • Appropriations from one-time revenue streams and savings from other areas of state government.
State Employee Hiring Freeze (Executive Order 17-07) Oregonians deserve a state government that delivers services both effectively and efficiently. Governor Brown is taking extraordinary steps to reduce costs and find savings. • A statewide hiring freeze from May 1-June 30, 2017. Positions that provide services to critical life, health, or public safety, or that generate net revenue to the state are exempt. • A 10% reduction in state travel expenses for the 2017-19 biennium. • Direction to agencies to review their use of state-owned and state-leased facilities.
Implement Bargaining Best Practices (Executive Order 17-08) As Oregon faces significant budget limitations, the costs of recruiting and retaining highly qualified state employees must be considered, along with their ability to more cost effectively deliver quality services to Oregonians. • Complete biennial market studies to ensure state salary packages remain competitive with comparable, regional employers; employees are fairly compensated; and limited public resources are protected. • Establish a policy to include steps, COLA, and healthcare—not just COLAs – in the legislatively determined “salary pot.” • Standardize training programs for new hires to ensure Oregon taxpayers receive the maximum value from state employees.
Recovering Monies Owed to the State (Executive Order 17-09) As of June 30, 2016, there was $3.3 billion in uncollected state debt. Of that amount, about $600-$800 million is owed to the general fund. About 95 percent of the outstanding debt owed to the general fund is related to unpaid taxes. To collect this debt efficiently, Senate Bill 89 streamlines our debt collection process and centralizes it at the Department of Revenue. In an executive order, Governor Brown is directing all state agencies to: • By June 1, 2017, report to the state’s Chief Operating Officer with their most recent uncollected debt numbers and what they think is collectable. • Require all agencies to determine if a contractor has debt with the state before issuing or renewing state contracts. • Ask the Department of Revenue to evaluate creating a transparency website that lists legally appropriate information about debtors.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown 900 Court St NE 254 Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-5965
