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| NEWS: March 14, 2016 Higher Education | The Nation Private-College Administrators' Raises Outpacing Those at Public Institutions For the first time in three years, administrative salaries are growing more quickly at private colleges than at public institutions, according to a new survey. At private institutions, the median base salary of senior administrators in 2015-16 rose by 2.2 percent, compared with an increase of 2 percent for public-college officials. >> Chronicle of Higher Education UC Moving Toward 401(k) Style Pension Plans The University of California is set to adopt a new pension tier for its underfunded retirement system that it calculates will save nearly $1.5 billion over the next 15 years. The proposal will result in some new employees signing up for 401(k)-style defined-contribution plans. >> Sacramento Bee UC President Launches New Sexual-Harassment Reviews University of California President Janet Napolitano announced a new sexual-harassment review process amid furor over UC-Berkeley's handling of misconduct claims involving its law-school dean. >> Los Angeles Times Eastern Illinois University Laying Off 30% of Its Workforce Eastern Illinois University announced that it was laying off 177 employees, a cut in the size of its civil-service work force of roughly 30 percent, because of the state's continuing budget stalemate. >> Chronicle of Higher Education
Deal Averts Paralyzing Rail Strike New Jersey Transit officials and its rail unions reached a tentative agreement on their long-simmering contract dispute a day before a planned strike. Officials with the transportation agency had warned that a shutdown would have sent tens of thousands of rail passengers onto buses and roads, causing major traffic congestion and delays in the New York City region. >> NJ Advance Media, New York Times 70 Detroit Council Staffers May Become Full-Timers The Detroit City Council approved a budget plan that could provide as many as 70 council staff members with full-time status and benefits, a move one council member said would allow it to attract and retain key talent. The staff members currently are contract workers. >> Detroit News Deaths at Michigan Postal Facility Spur Gas Fears Anxiety is running high at a U.S. Postal Service facility in Pontiac, Mich., where five employees have died over 14 months and an auditor has found the agency is not properly measuring poisonous gas. >> Government Executive
Schools Chief May Run for Governor State schools chief Randy Dorn says he's weighing a run for governor this year as an independent, arguing that neither Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee nor Republicans are living up to their duty to fund public schools. Dorn recently announced that he won't seek a third term as superintendent of public instruction. >> Seattle Times Detroit Schools' Manager Expects Help from Lawmakers Steven Rhodes, the new state-appointed leader of Detroit Public Schools, said he thinks state lawmakers will prevent the district from running out of money to pay employees next month, saying that otherwise "schools shutting down is definitely a possibility." >> Detroit News Ethics | The Nation Study: Number of Corruption Convictions Declining Public-corruption convictions have been ticking steadily downward during the last three decades, according to an academic study that examined more than 16,452 cases dating back to 1986. Despite sensational media coverage, one of the authors said, only about 2 percent of the cases involved elected or high-ranking officials. >> Route Fifty/Government Executive
Shrinking Staff Worries DoD's Financial Managers Defense Department financial executives, under pressure to meet the mandated goal of auditability by next year while keeping up with current military operations, are feeling under-resourced and worried about a coming retirement wave, according to a new survey saying executives' concerns about budget cuts also raise anxiety about the Pentagon's ability to maintain and modernize its information-technology systems. >> Government Executive Army Looking at Which Old Weapons to Abandon Seeing little other way to pay for new equipment during a time of declining budgets, the Army is taking a wide-ranging look at every weapons system in its inventory to decide which it can get rid of. >> Federal News Radio Human Services | Pennsylvania Agency Touting Improvements in Customer Service Advocacy groups and their clients have long complained about poor customer service at the state Department of Human Services, and it seems their voices have been heard. DHS is touting improvements including more phone calls getting answered more quickly and other new initiatives in the works to serve people more quickly. >> Pittsburgh Post-Gazette >> Follow GovManagement on Twitter >> Share this edition:
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VIEWPOINT Efficiency | John Pearson Why Customer Service Isn't the Salvation of Government It is wrong to think that everything would be fine in government if agencies just emphasized the needs of their customers, as the book Reinventing Government advocates. Government agencies have many demands on them that are not related to customer service or participation. Private organizations control their product line in a way that government agencies do not. They can choose to cut back costly and difficult products and services and do more customer service if they feel it would help the bottom line. Although customer service in government is gradually improving, fully implementing legislation and improving quality are higher values for government agencies than customer service. >> PA Times | More commentaries
“One of your defenders lost his life in defense of this community today.” Prince George's County, Md., Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III, referring at a press conference to county police officer Jacai Colson, a four-year department veteran who was killed Sunday afternoon in a gunfight with a man who walked up to a district police station and opened fire outside the front doors in what the chief said was an unprovoked attack whose motive was unknown >> Washington Post | More quotes DATAPOINT More than $458 million Amount in inaccurate travel payments made by the Defense Department in 2014--mostly overpayments but also including a number of cases in which troops were shortchanged--with the percentage of all payments that were inaccurate growing from 5 percent in 2012 to 7 percent in 2014, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general that found widespread errors in the vouchers troops submit for reimbursement >> Military Times | More data UPCOMING EVENTS
Association of the United States Army Global Force Symposium and Exposition March 15-17, Huntsville, Ala. George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership Emerging Leaders Workshop March 15-16, Washington, D.C. Heritage Foundation Discussion: "North Korea Sanctions: What They Mean and Where We Go From Here" March 15, 10-11:30 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Discussion with U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry: "Defense Acquisition Reform Proposals" March 15, 1-2 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. College and University Professional Association for Human Resources Webinar: "Incivility--Adding Injury to Insult" March 15, 2 p.m. ET >> Full events listings |
