Pa. Top Auditor Urges Buyouts To Trim Size Of State Government

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Pennsylvania auditor general Jack Wagner says a voluntary retirement program for state employees could help the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania deal with a staggering budget deficit of four to five billion dollars he projects for the next fiscal year.

Wagner (above) says Pennsylvania state government should consider offering across-the-board the same employee retirement package he offered his own employees this past summer. Wagner says 50 of his staff, or 7½ percent of his workforce, took the deal, saving the state $1½ million:

"If this were projected again at the state level, and we had a seven percent success rate, the savings would be $201 million the first year and a sustainable annual savings the second year and every year thereafter of $381 million."

Wagner says his suggestion is just the latest in a series of proposals he will be making to start now to address what he believes will be the most significant fiscal crisis the state has ever faced.

Reported by KYW Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tony Romeo.
Photo by Tony Romeo