Is Governor Paterson really talking about 250 layoffs statewide?

At his press conference yesterday, Governor David Paterson said something that led much of the news coverage that followed.

Despite deep and necessary budget cuts, he insisted, “”We’re not going to schedule any layoffs” of state workers.

But then he added this — which made it into very little of the reporting statewide (emphasis added):

“We are thinking of not having to have any reductions to the workforce OTHER THAN WHERE WE REDUCE AGENCIES OR HAVE CONSOLIDATIONS.

In those cases there may be a reduction of the workforce slightly.”

It turns out, Gov. Paterson is proposing 24 lay-offs in Clinton County, with the closure of a special-needs boarding school run by the Office of Children and Family Services.

And buried within his press statement, issued shortly after his press conference, is this rather different message:

“Overall, these actions [mothballing facilities run by the Office of Children and Family
Services] will result in a 255 full-time equivalent reduction in the size of the OCFS
workforce.

The agency will make all possible efforts to ensure that this reduction is
achieved through attrition.”

I spoke with an official in the state Budget Office, who made it clear that “all possible efforts” does not equal a guarantee. If other jobs are available, fine. If not, these workers are out.

With a hiring freeze in place statewide, it’s hard to imagine how the system can absorb more than 250 displaced workers.

State Senator Betty Little put it this way: “In the Governor’s talk this morning, he talked about no lay-offs in state jobs. 24 lay-offs in Clinton County is really difficult.”