Thursday, December 4, 1975
University Daily Kansan
7
Booth sees opposition to increase
By MAREA LIEBERT
Staff Writer
There may be much opposition to the 10 per cent faculty salary increase and the cost of living salary increase for University of Kansas during the 1976 legislative session, State Sen. Arden Booth, R-Lawrence, said yesterday.
Booth and State Rep. Lloyd Buzzi, Lawrence, spoke to about 56 people at a meeting of the Classified Office and Clerical Workers Advisory Unit (COCWAU) on the unit. COCWAU represents one-third of the office and secretarial workers at KU.
According to Booth, many legislators will propose any increase of funds, even though revenue from state income taxes increased last year.
"New York City is affecting the minds of many Kansasans," Both said. "They want us the legislature) to spend less money." MANY MAJOR CITIES, besides New York, both said, are having financial problems in the area. Some land in uncontrollable budgets.
This is one reason why legislators will be extremely cautious in approving any increased state funding this year, he said. Booth also said that party politics would be playing an important role in this year's legislative session because of the coming midterm election. He added that at the voting records of their representatives and if the voters opposed increased funding, the legislators probably would oppose it, too.
However, Booth said, he thought the state government would continue the 10 per cent tax increase.
"My feeling is that we will have a third year of the 10 per cent (increase)," he said.
BOOTH ADDED, HOWEVER, that he was "the eternal optimist."
He said Gov. Robert F. Bennett thought few people should do more work and get more pay. The governor's goal is to get more production from fewer people, he said.
Buzzi said if there were to be any cutbacks of state employee, it would be selective. He said it wouldn't be a random list of employees in state agencies would be eliminated.
Buzzi also spoke on the interim work of the legislative committees and other pending matters.
He said classification of state jobs was being studied and if the comparative pay bill was passed this year, each level of job classification would be reviewed by the Departments of Administration and Personnel. By reviewing each state department regularly, Buzi said, complaints should be eliminated.
HE SAID INVESTIGATIONS into the Kansas Civil Service regarding sex and minority discriminations in jobs also were being studied.
Buzzi said that he and Booth were on a joint committee last year that studied discrimination in state jobs. The committee found signs of sex discrimination, but the
Department of Administration assured them that a plan was in process to wipe out the library.
The committee will review the plan by the end of this year's session, he said, and if the discrimination hasn't been eliminated, the committee will issue guidelines and draft a bill.
THE PENSION FUND, disability coverage, retirement programs and other benefits for state employees were being studied by the legislature, he said. According to Buzzi, one change involving the pension fund would have the fund start on the first day of employment, rather than after the first year, as it stands now.
He said reclassification and other recommendations made by COCWAU were clerical workers could get interim reports and could attend legal hearings.
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