Delaware Public Employees Say ‘No!’ to Budget Cuts

April 16, 2009

SAVE PUBLIC SERVICES! – Members of Delaware Council 81 rally at the state capitol in Dover. (Photo credit: Matthew A Basham)

Nearly 100 Delaware public employees – members of Council 81 – rallied at the state capitol in Dover recently to demand that lawmakers tap into the state’s “rainy day fund” to protect vital public services that taxpayers deserve.

Led by Council 81 Exec. Dir. Michael Begatto, the employees let the legislators know that they would fight a proposal by Gov. Jack Markell (D) to cut state workers’ pay by 8 percent and impose other reductions in services.

To prevent such drastic cuts, Council 81 contends Delaware lawmakers should tap into a $186 million “rainy day fund” that the state has set aside for emergencies.

Rally speakers included Sharon Milson, a licensed practical nurse who provides long-term care at Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City. She said her patients desperately need the state to release its rainy day funds:

“They’re talking about closing my hospital and merging it with another,” Milson explained. “I have patients with devastating conditions who need individual care – they won’t have access to the care they need if they’re forced into an overcrowded hospital. For my patients and their families, it’s not just raining – it’s pouring.”