Rethinking Public Sector Compensation: What Ever Happened to the Public Interest?

Thom Reilly

may 2012 · M.E. Sharpe

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Designed as a comprehensive overview of public sector compensation, the book addresses strategies for change, with the author warning that failure of the profession to address this issue will ultimately lead to citizens taking matters into their own hands. The author's issues-oriented approach addresses his core message--that the escalation of public sector compensation is impacting the ability of government to meet its core responsibility and the failure of government to address this has serious consequences. Not just a critique, the book presents context, analysis, and suggestions for reform.

Reilly outlines specific plans for reform, including more openness; education and engagement of the public; state-level reforms governing the awarding of increases for public sector compensation plans; eliminating outdated vestitures of public sector compensation such as longevity pay, payments for sick leave accumulated upon termination, and automatic cost-of-living adjustments; and adoption of pay-for-performance programs and one-time bonus awards for meritorious performance, among others.

Two unique and valuable features of the book are the author's detailed model of public-versus-private sector compensation, constructed to gauge the cost of lifetime compensation, and his model of the Iron Triangle to illustrate how elected politicians, management and labor representatives engage in nontransparent discussions involving public pay and benefits.