FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 13, 2024
Time Requested: 04:35 PM |
| Agency: |
Highways, Division of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1979 |
Introduced |
HB5679 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Roads and Transportation; State Personnel |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
State Road Fund
Sources of Revenue:
Special Fund
Legislation creates:
Creates New Expense
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
Summarize in a clear and concise manner what impact this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The purpose of this bill is to modify the compensation and classification of certain employees of the Division of Highways. In addition, the proposed legislation would provide all Division of Highways a $200 per month increase of wages annually for each year of completed service.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2024
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2025
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
153,781,848 |
153,781,848 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
153,781,848 |
153,781,848 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
Please explain increases and decreases in personal services, current expenses, repairs and alterations, assets, other costs and revenues, including assumptions and data sources and delineation between start-up and ongoing costs. Please also include a long-range schedule of costs and revenues if fiscal impact is expected to vary in future years.
It is important to note that working in state government comes with additional benefits outside of salary. The current "payroll additive" for the WVDOT is approximately 66% of an employees base salary. This includes fringe benefits and are not included in the direct rate of pay.
This proposed legislation is difficult to quantify due to ambiguity in the "Teamster Base Rate of Pay." According to ZipRecruiter.com, the average rate of pay for a "Teamster Truck Driver" is $27.02 per hour in West Virginia. Due to the multiple tiers of the US DOL Apprenticeship Program utilized by the WVDOH, the average salary of $27.02 (Teamster) rate was used to create this fiscal note. It is also important to note that no overtime was factored in when composing this fiscal note, which would increase the cost exponentially.
Another classification of employee mentioned is the County Storekeeper. After examining the job classification, and comparing the duties with that of a similar position in the private sector, an average salary of $13.28 per hour was used to make a comparison. The starting salary for a Transportation County Supply Specialist within the DOT is $16.25 without the payroll additive.
The third classification mentioned is the Office Manager. The average salary of an office manager in the private sector in WV (ZipRecruiter.com) is $20 per hour. The beginning salary of an office manager within the DOT is $20 per hour without the payroll additive.
The last financial component to this bill is the $200 per month increase in wages to be paid annually to all DOH employees. With a conservative average tenure of 12 years, and an average of 5,000 employees, the total payment in year one (only factoring the $200 increase in wages) would total $144,000,000. The way this bill is drafted, in year two of implementation, that number would rise to $156,000,000.
The following breakdown provides the most accurate impact of this proposed legislation only to the Transportation Workers and the $200 per month increase of wages to all DOH employees after year one of implementation:
($27.09/hr + $6.08 additive + $2,400)= $71,393.60 x 2,055 qualifying (TW's) = $146,713,848 after year one, plus $7,068,000 for the remaining 2,945 employees to receive the first year 12-month increase. The payroll additive was determined by subtracting the the "Teamster" salary from the current average DOH salary for a similar position, and adding 66% of that number.
Memorandum
Please identify any areas of vagueness, technical defects, reasons a bill would not have a fiscal impact, and/or any special issues not captured elsewhere on this form.
The above estimates are based only on year one, assuming the $200 per month increase was effective from passage and every employee was treated as a new employee. This proposed legislation is not financially feasible as written. The DOH would be unable to maintain the state's roadways or critical infrastructure due to the extreme increase in personnel expense. It is also important to note that W.Va. Code secures an incremental payment ($60 per year) to each state employee, to be paid each fiscal year after three years of qualifying service. In addition, the DOT has a merit system in place that was approved by the Legislature in a past session. Through this program, WVDOT employees have a defined career and compensation path already in place.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Jonathan W Schaffer
Email Address: Jonathan.w.schaffer@wv.gov