COLUMBUS - The state agency that oversees food stamps and health insurance for the poor is eliminating about 554 jobs to comply with Gov. Ted Strickland's order that the agency reduce spending by $67.5 million.
The cuts at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services aren't expected to hurt services or programs, said Michael Colbert, the agency's chief financial officer.
The reduction represents about 14 percent of the agency's 3,900 workers.
Under the plan, 180 positions will be abolished and 254 vacancies will not be filled. An additional 120 employees are expected to take an early retirement offer. Nearly all the positions are in the Columbus area.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/NEWS24/805040...
they can eliminate over 500 jobs and services will not be effected??
Looks like there was an awful lot of folks who just had 'for fun' jobs gonna be out hitting the bricks...
Taft and his fellow corrupt Republicans ran Ohio government like their own private slush fund. I’m not surprised that the Ohio government could shed 500 nephews, sons of political donors and friends of friends.
Now we need to do the same in Toledo.
that's a savings of $16,200,000.
you're right, Billy, what can be done in Toledo?
How 'bout we try this on for size?
The people of Toledo/Ohio/USA need to get it thru their heads that the government was not put there to be an employer and to "keep their people working"...
If you were to hire a landscaper to mow your lawn, and they showed up with 20 guys and the forman said "hey, I gotta keep my men working" and you were the person footing the bill, you'd think he was nuts and kick his ass off your property - but when the government does it, that's exactly what happens.
The government's job is to do the things we tell them we want done in the most efficient means necessary - in this example their job is to administrate the food stamp program. If they can do it with 500 less people, then those people need to be gone - most likely shouldnt have been there anyway.
Im sick and tired of seeing crap like this, then hearing a song and dance about not having the funds to repair roads, pay cops or firemen, etc.
What can we do? we can do an analysis on every department here in Toledo and lucas county that's funded by the tax payers and see just who's doing what and who's just polishing their master's ring.
I bet we'd find a whole lot of chaff that we can get rid of - and in talking to several people I know who work for the city, I pretty much know Im right.
First, the state agency should be commended for reducing the size of government, in order to reduce costs, but does this action go far enough?
1.) Does reducing this agency's workforce by 554 actually result in saving $67.5 millon dollars? If so, how?
2.) Especially since it begs the question of whether or not "cuts in these jobs SHOULD result in hurting services or programs". Reducing these services and progams for some, if not many might be the very thing that is needed in order to reduce costs even further.
3.) Maybe the services themselves and the criteria in how indviduals obtain them needs to be re-examined.
Suppose there are some people out there who receive these services, but the criteria is so lax, not enforced, or whatever to such an extent that people "work and abuse the system"? How is that problem, if real -- being addressed?
If nobody looks for the leaks there, then nobody will find them there. If nobody finds them, nobody will correct them. If nobody corrects them, then how does laying off 554 workers from this agency going to do anything significant to eliminate this debt? Especially since the very people being laid off might end up being on the same services they administered?
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