Can your uncle, or perhaps your girlfriend’s father still get you a state job in Rhode Island?
Well, maybe. Especially if it’s the right uncle. Or the right girlfriend.
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But the numbers suggest that it’s probably more difficult than ever to obtain such a job — even for those “in the know.” In fact, it appears that you would have a better shot at landing a job in one of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns, where in recent years employment rolls have expanded more rapidly than at the state level.
And perhaps more important than a well placed relative, is a teacher’s certificate. Several city and town officials suggest that one has to look no further than municipal school districts when searching for clues to unravel the mystery of rising public employment.
But it is a mystery not easily solved. Daniel Beardsley, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, has his own theory. He calls the increase in public sector employment in Rhode Island’s cities and towns “amazing.” The jobs are not among the ranks of police officers and fire fighters, he said.
“I represent the state’s political subdivisions, but not its school districts,” Beardsley said. “Based on my knowledge of the local employment scene, I would have to respectfully guess that the rise in local employment is due to the hiring of more school teachers.”
But Timothy Duffy, executive director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, does not believe that an increase in the number of teachers has fueled a jump in public sector jobs in Rhode Island’s cities and towns.
“Based on the statistics we track on a regular basis, the number of teachers has not increased dramatically,” said Duffy.
Between January, 1993 and 1998, state and local government employment in the United States grew by 9.2 percent, according to a Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council (RIPEC) study on employment trends. In Rhode Island, the rate of increase in state and local employment was 4.2 percent. During this period, 35 states experienced more rapid growth in public employment than did the Ocean State.
That the increase in Rhode Island’s government employment occurred at the city and town level is evidenced by the fact that state employment declined by 12.2 percent during the five-year period, according to RIPEC. When only state employment is considered, Rhode Island ranked 35th, showing no growth compared to an 0.5 percent increase in state employment nationally.
So where are cities and towns adding to their payrolls? Beardsley is not alone in his thinking. An increase in the number of school teachers heads the list of factors as jobs in Rhode Island’s municipalities rise. Beardsley notes that lower class size mandates by the state will only necessitate the hiring of even more teachers.
“Any additional hiring in public safety comes as a direct result of a resignation — or retirement,” said Beardsley . “So there is no increase, necessarily, in the local level of employment.”
But Duffy notes that more workers in schools is too simple an explanation — and one that in some cases, doesn’t make sense. In fact, said Duffy, the vast majority of school districts throughout the Ocean State have privatized food services in recent years, which has meant a reduction in the number of cafeteria workers.
“I have not seen a dramatic rise in the number of employees in the school ranks,” said Duffy. “Classroom size, for example, is set by contract. It’s not that all of a sudden each classroom has 15 students. That’s not something that school districts have backed down on.”
But in some urban areas, such as the capital city, there has been a rise in the number of teachers. Providence Teachers Union President Phyllis Tennian said that in 1992, there were 1,300 teachers in Providence. Today, she said, there are 2,200.
“That’s an enormous increase,” said Tennian.
It’s an increase necessitated by a rise in the number of families emigrating to Rhode Island — and in particular, Providence. But rural Rhode Island communities are also experiencing growth — and, as a result, a significant jump in public sector jobs, including teachers.
Nowhere is that employment impact more apparent than in South Kingstown, where more building permits have been pulled during the past few years than any other Rhode Island community. Bruce Keiser, director of administrative services in South Kingstown, said that the town has had to expand services to accommodate residents. In recent years, employees have been added in the parks and recreation department and emergency services. But it is the school district that is growing faster than anything else.
“We’re adding 100 new students per year to the school system,” said Keiser.
In East Greenwich, Town Manager William Sequino, Jr. said it is primarily the school district that has “added some bodies” in recent years. As for the town side, said Sequino, employment numbers have been a model of consistency.
“We haven’t gone up,” said Sequino. “I think over the past ten years, we’ve increased by half a full-time employee.”
East Providence Town Manager Paul Lemont remembers a day ten years ago when the city instituted an early retirement program. “I lost 37 people in one day,” said Lemont. “That was the point at which we made a decision that we wouldn’t increase beyond that.”
For the most part, said Lemont, the city has been able to maintain a consistent level of employment.
“We’ve added a senior center since then, and a couple of employees there,” he said.
In recent years, the state seems to be succeeding in its efforts to keep its payroll under control. In fact, in fiscal year 1992, the state had 17,714.6 authorized full time employee positions, according to the RIPEC study. However, through attrition, program reductions and other actions, the state had 15,948.7 authorized positions in 1997. This 1,765.9 reduction presented a 10 percent decrease over the five-year period. The 1998 budget as enacted continued the trend, authorizing 15,745.7 positions for all government functions, representing a 1.3 percent decline from 1997.
But it does appear that the state’s streak in declining public sector jobs will be coming to a close in 1999, according to an updated RIPEC study. Gary Sasse, executive director of RIPEC, believes that the factor most responsible for an increase in public sector jobs throughout Rhode Island is an increase in the number of teachers. Sasse credits the state for reducing its employment, but he also issues a note of caution. For the first time in nearly a decade, the number of authorized state jobs is higher than the previous year. For 1999 it is 15,985.5, compared with the15,745.7 for 1998 representing an increase of 1.5 percent.
“Any up-tick in employment should signal a yellow flag,” Sasse said. “We don’t want to get on that treadmill we were on in the 40s and 50s when we were adding so many jobs”
RIPEC conclusions include the following: “Why is local government employment in Rhode Island increasing while population remains stable?”
RIPEC’s study acknowledges an increase in service demand, including in education, as some city and town populations rise. But the report further states: “Nevertheless, a comprehensive review of the feasibility and potential costs and benefits of municipal government cooperatively delivering services through joint service agreements and intergovernmental service contracts is needed in order to determine if the rate of growth in local government employment can be stabilized…”
RIPEC further suggests that such an analysis should include:
- Review Rhode Island’s prior experience in coordinating and consolidating local government services (e.g. education, purchasing, promotion of tourism, special multi-community service districts: water, waste water treatment, fire);
- Research experience of other states and localities;
- Develop financial and service impact models to evaluate intergovernmental cooperation alternatives;
- Develop an analysis to include comparative fiscal and management data and outline barriers to opportunities to cooperative service delivery options.
