COLUMBUS, Ohio -- More than 16,000 state employees will see their pay docked next fiscal year by the equivalent of 10 full work days, Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration said Monday as it works to fill a $2.5 billion budget hole stemming from the coronavirus crisis.
The pay cuts, announced by Ohio Office of Budget and Management Director Kim Murnieks, are the equivalent of a 3.8% pay cut for the state’s non-union employees. DeWine’s cabinet directors, who are among the state’s highest-paid employees, will see their pay cut by 4%. The state also is approaching its employee unions, which represent nearly 35,000 more state employees, asking for them to share cost-cutting suggestions by June 15.
Murnieks said the DeWine administration will seek legislative approval to extend a freeze on employee pay and step increases through fiscal year 2021, which runs through next June.
A state hiring freeze, besides those directly dealing with responding to COVID-19, will remain in place.
The state’s revenues have tanked since March, when DeWine ordered widespread closures of businesses and restrictions on daily life to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, more than 1.25 million Ohioans have filed new unemployment claims. The state gets most of its revenue from income taxes and sales taxes, which are tied closely to employment and commercial activity.
In April, the first full month after the closures went into effect, revenues came in nearly $1 billion less than expected. In response, DeWine in May announced nearly $800 million in spending cuts, most of which will affect Medicaid, K-12 schools and higher education.
Monday’s announcement came as the state closed the books on May. State budget officials now believe revenues for its next fiscal year will come in $2.5 billion lower than they had budgeted, Murnieks said.
State officials did not immediately respond when asked how much they expect to save through the new cost-cutting measures announced Monday.
Murnieks said the state will release more information about its fiscal situation on June 10.
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