Patronage Jobs Targeted

Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy last week continued his campaign to balance the state budget by eliminating thousands of state political patronage jobs and ending expensive consulting contracts.

In his speech to the Citizens for Highways and Infrastructure in Livingston Parish, Kennedy said his budget solutions would prevent severe spending cuts for state hospitals and higher education.

The government should eliminate at least 15,000 of the 35,000 politically appointed positions, which pay an average of $80,000 a year, he said.

Kennedy proposed a three-year job phase out, shedding one-third of the targeted jobs each year through attrition.

State government managers oversee an average of four employees and 22% of them supervise only one state employee, Kennedy told the group, adding that many states mandate only one supervisor for every 10 workers.

The state has at least 19,000 consulting contracts, he said, with almost 5,500 of those in the Department of Education. Kennedy said the contracts cost too much money, many are worthless, and some are “embarrassing.”

The treasurer said the state could save $750 million by eliminating 10% of the existing contracts, and another $337 million by renegotiating the others for a 5% reduction.

Another $100 million could be saved by providing Medicaid patients with private medical insurance that is cheaper than the state program, he said.

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