By PHIL DRAKE
A majority of Montana voters polled don’t want to pay more taxes or have service cuts to keep public employee benefits at present levels should budget problems arise, according to a poll unveiled Tuesday.
They also favor giving current public employees a choice between participating in a defined contribution plan or defined benefit plan.
And 83 percent of those Montana voters polled say the state has an efficient government, 62 percent did not believe the state faced a budget crisis year and 65 percent think public sector retirees should not have to contribute more toward their pensions.

The Manhattan Institute on Tuesday presented what it said was the first comprehensive national poll of voter attitudes on public sector unions and state budgets. The survey was conducted by Douglas E. Schoen, one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for more than 30 years. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels attended the news conference.
The poll found that 52 percent on Montanans polled don’t want to pay more taxes to keep public employee benefits at present levels should state budget problems arise. And 56 percent did not want service cuts to keep public employee benefits at current levels should budget problems arise.
The Montana Policy Institute, the publisher of Montana Watchdog, provided specific questions to be asked of 400 residents in the state.
“The Montana results are predictably split about public sector unions’ role in budget shortfalls and how much and what types of reforms are needed,” MPI President Carl Graham said. “But it’s clear that voters want to hold the line on taxes, empower state government workers to have more control over their retirement benefits, and see taxpayer interests better represented at the bargaining table.”
The poll also found that:
– 72 percent of voters favor giving current public employees a choice between participating in a defined contribution plan or a defined benefit plan.
– 56 percent would like to see public employees moved from a defined benefit to a defined contribution plan.
– 51 percent say public employee unions gain too much influence when they lobby and help elect the same officials with whom they bargain for wages and benefits. Sixty-nine percent say taxpayers are not being fairly represented by state government in collective bargaining negotiations.
– 64 percent of voters favor phasing out tenure for teachers because it protects bad teachers from being fired while making it harder to bring in new and better teachers.
– 55 percent believe the economy is headed in the right direction.
– A plurality, 48 percent, believe public employees’ salaries should not be frozen and they should not be required to contribute more toward their benefits.
– A plurality, 46 percent, believes elected state officials made careless and self-serving decisions.
– 53 percent would rather see government spending cut than raise taxes to pay for public employee benefits.
– 47 percent believe collective bargaining is a right of public employees and budget problems are the result of mismanagement and overspending.
Three bills – House Bills 122, 134 and 135 –  were passed in the last session of the Montana Legislature to make some changes to pensions that officials said would address shortfalls.
HB 122 was for improvements to the Public Employees’ Retirement System, covering most public workers, and 134 and 135 were for improvements to the pension plans for Game Wardens and Peace Officers Retirement System and Sheriffs’ Retirement System.
For new hires in all three plans, effective July 1, 2011, pension calculations will be made averaging the high five years of earnings, instead of the current high-three. The change prevents so-called spiking of retirement benefits via late-career pay raises or substantial pre-retirement overtime pay to boost the average when figuring monthly benefits, state officials said.
|Beginning July 1, 2011, new hires under PERS will see these changes: normal retirement age increases from 60 to 65, and eligibility for early retirement increases from age 50 to 55 with five years of membership service. Employee contributions also increase from 6.9 percent to 7.9 percent, according to state officials.
The Manhattan Institute describes itself as a “think tank whose mission is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility.”
The national poll showed widespread bipartisan support for reforms to cut spending and not increase taxes. The poll also showed there was support for reform of pension systems for current and future public employees to help resolve state fiscal problems.
National polling found that 78 percent of the people said their state faced a budget crisis this year.
Go to the MPI site at www.montanapolicy.org to view a slide presentation on the state poll or click: http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/page.php?page_id=5