(The Center Square) — Against the volatile headwinds of inflation, calls to increase state retirees’ cost-of-living adjustments were a prevailing theme Friday as a legislative committee took testimony on the Department of Labor’s portion of the upcoming biennium budget.
The Maine Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs continued its public hearings on Gov. Janet Mills’ proposed $10.3 billion budget for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Mills’ announcement last month of her proposed spending plan for the upcoming years included a $169 million allocation geared specifically toward older adults. Of the figure, $47 million has been proposed for cost-of-living adjustment increases to counteract inflationary pressures.
A majority of the more than dozen residents and organization representatives offering up testimony at Friday’s committee hearing are state retirees, who took aim at the standard 3% cost-of-living adjustment cap that has been in place since 2011.
Ginette Rivard, a seven-year retiree in the state system, said she was appreciative of the additional funds proposed in the upcoming budget. However, she said the 3% increase cap that has been in place in the past decade has impacted older adults living on fixed incomes.
“We’ve had to come before this committee, hat in hand, asking for an ad-hoc increase in the COLA,” Rivard said.
Penny Whitney Asdourian, also in the state retirement system, echoed similar sentiments and asked the Maine Legislature to consider long-term changes to the 3% cost of living adjustment cap.
“One-time fixes are simply not enough,” Whitney Asdourian said. “I’m asking that you fund a full cumulative COLA in the biennium budget. In my mind, this is the year, and this is the time.”
Laura Fortman, commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor, was among the state staffers who offered additional insight into Mills’ budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025.
The department’s total proposed budget in fiscal year 2024 is $121 million and increases in fiscal year 2025 to $122 million.
In a big-picture sense, Fortman said an overarching goal within the Department of Labor in the upcoming budget cycle is to provide resources toward workforce development.
“Maine’s economy has a place for everyone,” Fortman said. “It is designed with everyone in mind.”
In particular, Fortman said the department has honed in on providing additional resources to traditionally marginalized groups of people, including those with disabilities, people of color and people working through the justice system.
“There are these pockets of people who we’re designing specific outreach programs to help them reengage (in the labor market),” Fortman said.
A targeted goal in the coming years, Fortman said, is to bridge current gaps between people with disabilities and prospective employers.
“I think there are real opportunities for people with disabilities,” Fortman said. “There are qualified individuals who are sitting on the sidelines and want to be employed.”
In her testimony, Fortman said an effort to increase staffing in the unemployment insurance office also is underway and is a part of Mills’ biennium budget.
As was the case across much of the U.S., Maine ramped up its staffing within the UI office to handle the influx of claims that poured in. But many of those temporary positions have since dropped off as the number of claims has dropped precipitously.
“We were woefully understaffed, prepandemic,” Fortman said. “We’re still trying to figure out what the appropriate level is.”