Newspaper work involves going to many meetings, whether it’s as a beat reporter or an editor trying to get the day’s news to readers. Having done both jobs, to me there’s no question which is more stressful.

No offense to journalists in the trenches covering confounding government meetings, then hustling to explain the intricacies under a tight deadline. But I’d jump at that assignment over any newspaper budget meeting.

Listening to bean counters tell us newsroom dolts to cut already down-to-the-bone costs is a sure-fire way to suffer a headache or ulcer. Back in my newspaper days, one colleague went to his first such meeting then bolted the next day to enroll at a semi truck-driving school. Best personal-finance decision he ever made.

I vividly recall one particularly tense management meeting three decades ago like it was yesterday. A reliably mild-mannered editor was fed up with complaints from other department heads. When a company vice president started railing about the spike in our overtime budget, she finally reached her limit.

“Why can’t we pay people more?” she asked. “And hire enough staff so we can actually do our jobs?”

The VP, who was also the advertising director, leaned across the table and sneered. “Do you really think people will do a better job if we pay them more?” he scoffed.

The editor glared at him. “Well, they’ll do a better job if they can actually afford to eat,” she said.

End result: no raises, because upper management  rarely listens. But it was satisfying to hear someone speak truth to power — at work no less.

I thought about this encounter when the Wyoming Department of Corrections, caught in a budget bind and staff shortages that recently led to the transfer of 240 inmates to a private prison in Mississippi, made a bold, unexpected move.

On Dec. 1, the DOC raised salaries for correctional officers from $20.06 per hour to $25.56. According to ZipRecuiter, the current national average hourly salary for correctional officers is $26. Based on skill level, location and years of experience, the company said some states pay as much as $36 per hour.

The DOC’s five institutions have about one-quarter of the authorized 530 uniformed positions vacant, most of them at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk. The salary increases were made possible when the department’s human resources office approved using money from staff vacancies.

Guess what? The raises made an immediate impact on the DOC’s ability to attract new recruits. Director Dan Shannon told the Joint Appropriations Committee the men’s penitentiary had 19 applications, and the women’s center eight, between January and October.   

In the first three weeks of December, the department hired 26 correctional officers who will begin training in January. It’s not enough to start bringing Wyoming inmates back right away from the Tallahatchie Correctional Institute in Mississippi, but DOC officials said it will happen sooner if such progress continues.

That’s dramatic evidence that if you pay liveable wages, people will apply.

The same thing happened when the Wyoming Department of Transportation faced a shortage of about 60 snow plow drivers ahead of winter, leaving many of the most dangerous highways that regularly close in bad weather under staffed. If the 2023-24 winter is as snowy as last year’s, imagine how it could affect the health and safety of motorists, plus slow down commerce.

For the first time in a dozen years, WYDOT offered a $2,000 signing bonus for permanent snowplow driver positions. Taylor Rossetti, WYDOT’s support services administrator, said while some vacancies remain, “the bonus is a testament to our commitment to building a strong workforce that can meet the challenges of our ever-evolving transportation landscape.”

Correctional officers and snowplow drivers are employed in two of the most hazardous occupations in Wyoming. They both deserve higher pay and benefits.

It’s great to see after years of lagging behind the private sector in attracting and retaining employees, some state government managers realize it all starts with better salaries. What a shocker!

There’s a catch, though, and it’s a big one: DOC and WYDOT salary hikes and bonuses were authorized internally and didn’t need legislative approval. To extend the compensation increases, lawmakers must be persuaded to add them to their respective agency budgets. 

It should be a no-brainer, because these solutions to long-term problems are working. But it’s by no means a done deal, or even a safe bet that it happens, during the budget session that begins in February.

Thanks in part to a spike in severance tax revenue, lawmakers will have about $492 million more than expected to write the budget for the next three years. Meanwhile, Gov. Mark Gordon recommends saving $530 million during the budget session.

Earlier this year, the Legislature socked away a record $1.4 billion from tax revenues and federal COVID-19 relief funds.

I understand the need to cover future shortfalls, particularly as mineral tax revenues decline and pandemic funds expire. But how about showing employees we have now, or hope to hire and keep, some much-deserved respect?

Tammy Johnson, executive director of the Wyoming AFL-CIO, recalled a Joint Appropriations Committee meeting during which legislators discussed whether state employee salaries should be 85% or 90% of market value.

“Market is what you should be paid,” Johnson said. “Flip the tables and have a conversation about whether employees are worth 110% or 115% of market, and see how that makes your employees feel.

“The Legislature doesn’t even realize it’s in their hands to make decisions about how to keep employees,” Johnson added. “Believe me, workers know what they’re worth, and they’re leaving and not coming back. They don’t have collective bargaining rights or a voice in the workplace at all.”

Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) wholeheartedly agreed. “I want to be clear — this is the state Legislature’s fault,” she told WyoFile. “It’s unfortunate we haven’t valued our public employees in this state and paid them what they’re worth. So that’s exactly why we have vacancies.”

The DOC’s vacancies caused 240 inmates to be shipped to a for-profit, out-of-state prison, plus send 48 inmates to jails in Lincoln and Sublette counties.

It’s no secret private prisons are primarily concerned with their bottom lines. The DOC’s Shannon said keeping inmates away from home without family visits impacts rehabilitation efforts. So does reduced access to substance use programs, sex offense treatment and mental health care that Wyoming’s correctional system offers.

Meanwhile, corrections officers who remain in Wyoming are getting burned out. Shannon said staff members have worked exorbitant hours, costing the state more than $400,000 in overtime pay some months. Officers, the director added, have shuffled between facilities to cover mandatory posts.

When it comes to ensuring Wyoming’s penal facilities are safe and secure, our Legislature still has a long way to go.

It’s been 30 years, but I think the simple advice my co-worker gave to that insensitive executive only concerned about profit margins should resonate with officials charged with managing public dollars. Budget cuts aren’t the only solution to economic problems. Save a reasonable amount to meet our needs, but enable future generations to thrive here.

If the Legislature refuses, I guarantee workers won’t hesitate to pull up stakes for greener pastures. If lawmakers want secure prisons and safe roads, along with other quality-of-life benefits, let’s invest in people.

Veteran Wyoming journalist Kerry Drake has covered Wyoming for more than four decades, previously as a reporter and editor for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle and Casper Star-Tribune. He lives in Cheyenne and can be reached at kerry.drake33@yahoo.com.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.