One of the reporters for the Courant wrote a piece about the progress the State is making towards cutting down overtime. He went into the expected cost savings, which departments were meeting their targets, and so forth.

What he didn’t go into was the effect this was all having on State services. They haven’t been hiring new people, they’ve encouraged retirements, and the workload continues to increase. No doubt some employees have gotten to the point where they just let the chips fall where they may; but others, who can’t stand the thought of getting further and further behind, are working extra hours on their own time.

Nobody likes the idea of having to wait half a day to renew their driver’s license, but that’s what’s happening; and that’s a relatively inconsequential thing (except to the person who has to miss a day’s work). Imagine what’s going on in the Judicial Department, where late paperwork can mean someone spends the night in jail unnecessarily or that a restraining order doesn’t get handled quickly. And the Department of Children and Families is always getting beaten up for their inability to respond in a timely manner; what’s going to happen now?

As usual, it’s “Tax him, and cut her services, but make sure the potholes on my street are taken care of.”