The Governor came in for some renewed criticism in the Herald a couple of days back over the civilian flagger issue. The criticism centered around the prevailing wage for civilian flaggers, which is currently pegged at $36.35, only slightly less than the state police detail rate of $40. The argument has been made consistently by police unions that due to the prevailing wage law there would be no substantial savings to the state or localities from civilian flaggers. With the prevailing wage rate scheduled to go to $38.35 for civilian flaggers in two years the hourly rate savings are negligible. This fact has always been known, but there was some indication that the Administration might try to change the hourly rate downwards for this job category. That effort has not happened, leaving the higher prevailing wage rates in place, subjecting Governor Patrick to some criticism from Michael Widmer and Senator Steve Baddour. From the Herald:

“That was a lost opportunity,” said Michael Widmer, executive director of the business-based foundation. “The Legislature left that open for (the Patrick administration) to pursue that line, but they’ve taken the rate that’s on the books.”

Senator Baddour also expressed disappointment:

Sen. Steve Baddour (D-Methuen), who helped author legislation changing use of police details, echoed Widmer’s dismay.

“I’m disappointed we missed an opportunity to achieve more savings. The whole point of this issue was to save taxpayer dollars. We should revisit this and try and look for more savings,” Baddour said.

MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paeiwonsky was left to defend the program, indicating that the savings would come not from a lower rate but rather from a decline in overall hours worked, including the potential for utilizing less manpower per job. Commissioner Paeiwonsky declined to quantify the savings.

Are there any constituencies that have left this table satisfied? It does not appear so.