Press Release: Montana State and Local Public Employees Earn 15 Percent More in Total Compensation Than Private Sector Workers
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Press Release
9/23/2012
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Glenn Oppel, Policy Director
Montana Policy Institute
406-431-3685
goppel@montanapolicy.org
Summary:
The Montana Policy Institute and American Indicators ranked the business friendliness of 25 cities across Montana based on three categories: 1) economic vitality; 2) tax burden on businesses; and 3) community allure. Factors included in the economic vitality category include recent job growth, residential population growth from 2010 to 2011, population growth from 2000 to 2010, and median per-capita income. Business tax burden focuses on the property tax in each locality. Finally, factors measured in community allure include the cost of living index, per-capita violent crime rates, percent of adults age 25 or older with at least a high school diploma, and average Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) scores for all high schools in incorporates areas. The overall most business friendly city is Polson, with Glasgow and Sidney very close behind. For the top tier of largest cities, Bozeman took the top spot and fourth overall. The full report is available at www.montanapolicy.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Montana Cities Ranked On Business Friendliness
Bozeman, MT – The Montana Policy Institute and American Indicators have released a ranking of the economic vitality, business tax burden, and community allure of Montana’s 25 largest cities, providing an index of the measures most sought after by businesses. Polson tops the list, while Anaconda ranks lowest overall.
The report also breaks the cities into five population tiers, with Bozeman heading the largest city rankings and Glasgow leading the smallest group by population.
“Cities and towns are the real engines that drive the statewide economy and we compare how business friendly they are,” according to Glenn Oppel, MPI’s Policy Director. “Businesses that want to start up or relocate in Montana will not only look at the state’s business climate but also stack localities up against each other. Cities that are more welcoming to job creators and their families will obviously have an edge.”
The rankings use several criteria to measure the business climate of each city: tax policy; community allure, including cost of living and crime rate; year-over-year population and job growth; and economic vitality, including average incomes.
“We wanted to make sure that we conducted a comprehensive comparison of cities around the state,” emphasized Oppel. “That’s why we included both large and small, as well as western and eastern, cities in our comparison.”
The western Montana town of Polson takes the prize for the most business-friendly town in the state, with two eastern cities – Glasgow and Sidney – very close behind.
Ranked by size, Bozeman was the most business-friendly city in the top-tier of the largest cities, beating out Billings, Great Falls, Missoula, and Butte in that order. Havre edged out Kalispell, Helena, and Miles City in the second tier. Belgrade topped out the third tier, and Polson and Glasgow topped out the fourth and fifth tiers, respectively.
Oppel pointed out that MPI plans to publish this study on an annual basis to track the business friendly progress of the various cities and see how various policies affect job growth and community well-being.
The full report is available at www.montanapolicy.org.
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The Montana Policy Institute is an independent, nonprofit policy research center based in Bozeman. It provides analysis and information to encourage individual freedom, personal responsiblity, and free markets in Montana.
Montana Policy Institute
67 W Kagy Blvd, Ste. B
Bozeman, MT 59715
406-219-0508
info@montanapolicy.org
www.montanapolicy.org
MPI is a Montana tax exempt corporation operated exclusively for the public benefit. No substantial part of the activities of the Institute are used for the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, promote any political campaign, or on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
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Bozeman — Despite a two-year pay freeze, average state employee salaries and benefits have increased faster than the rate of inflation since 2004.
This and other findings are available in a new website, opengovmt.org, created by the Bozeman-based nonprofit Montana Policy Institute.
Pay data in the website was handed over by the state following a long legal battle and provides individual pay information for all state employees along with summary statistics in a variety of areas, including employee demographics, average compensation values, union membership, and funding sources.
According to MPI president Carl Graham, site users can review salary information for employees based on name, location, department, and many other criteria.
“The site is nonjudgmental about whether the numbers are too high, too low, or just right” said Graham. “But it does put the lie to recent statements that state employee pay has been frozen.”
According to site data, the real (after inflation) average increase in compensation was nearly 11 percent between 2004 and 2011, with the largest increases going to those making over $75,000 per year.
Compensation is likely to be a hot issue for the 2013 Legislature after it failed to ratify a pay raise for state workers in 2011. Lawmakers will be expected to vote on a recently announced 5 percent increase negotiated between public employee unions and the Schweitzer administration.
“This type of data should place everybody on an equal footing” added Graham. “Legislators and taxpayers have a right to know what their employees are paid, and that information simply was not available until now.”
Following nearly two years of open records request refusals by the state, MPI recently won a lawsuit demanding actual pay data for each state employee. That data is now available to the public at no cost on the opengovmt.org transparency portal along with detailed school revenue and spending information.
Contact:
Carl Graham
CEO
Montana Policy Institute
(406) 219-0508
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For July 11th, 2012 Release
For an interview with Montana Policy Institute’s Carl Graham call (406) 219-0508 or email info@montanapolicy.org.
The Montana Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research center based in Bozeman. To find out more visit us on the web at www.montanapolicy.org or contact us at 406-219-0508.