Manchin Budgeting for Future Public Employee Raises?

The same six-year forecast that shows growing budget deficits for West Virginia also include proposed pay raises for state employees starting during the 2012 budget year, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

Gov. Joe Manchin "wants to give a 2.4 percent across-the-board raise starting in July 2011, a 2.3 percent raise the year after, and then back-to-back 2.1 percent raises in July 2013 and 2014," the article said.

The newspaper places the proposed pay hikes against the gloomy backdrop of ever-widening gaps between estimated revenues and spending during the time period.

"In the 2012 budget year, for instance, when the proposed 2.4 percent increase would cost about $57 million, the state is predicted to face a $191 million deficit," the article said. "By 2015, when a 2.1 percent raise would cost $50 million, the deficit could be a half billion dollars."