Linda Hodgdon: Faulty information harming SEA members

Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Linda Hodgden writes a column in this morning's Union Leader claiming that bad information is harming members of the State Employees Association.

The union claimed that the state has part-timers earning $74 an hour, which is simply not correct. Part-time employees are paid a range of salaries depending on whether they are part-time judges, adjunct faculty at a community college, cleaning staff or toll attendants. The most recent data from 2009 indicates the average rate of pay for a part-time classified employee to be $14 per hour.

The union claimed the number of paid consultants has increased in this budget, which is also not true. Consultant salaries did not increase 40 percent. They are simply being reported in a much more transparent way under the new financial system that went into effect in July. A large portion of departments' contract expenditures are now correctly reported as consultants. The biggest change was at the Department of Transportation.