SUNBURY – State pension reform remains at the top of legislators’ to-do list and a new piece of legislation may help control costs. State Senator John Gordner (R-27th, Berwick) says the cost of pensions for state workers is staggering, “For every dollar that a public employee makes, thirty cents of it is going to pay for pension costs as compared to four or five cents of a dollar that a private employers are paying. It’s just an outrageous number and it’s costing everyone a lot of money.”
Gordner says new legislation will go into effect as Governor Wolf negotiates new state contracts with labor unions, “That specifically says that before a final contract with employee unions can be signed by the Governor, it must have an independent fiscal note assigned to it so that everyone knows what the cost of those contract negotiations are.”
The Independent Fiscal Office will be responsible for determining the cost to the state budget on all new contracts. Gordner was a guest on WKOK’s On The Mark and you can listen to his entire interview online at wkok.com.
