I think it is reasonable to expect employees to do exemplary work for their salary and benefits. The idea of merit pay for public employees is ridiculous. There is no profit, no competition and plenty of people standing in line for the jobs not to mention better than average compensation packages to start with..
I don’t personally know anyone in the private sector getting a bonus this year.(or last)
Many of these state employees have taken a pay cut, had no raises, and pay more for their benefits don’t forget. .013% of the surplus to those who helped with the budget cutting isn’t a bad thing imho. Demonstrating some gratitude for those who do their job well above the average (okay, that might be a low bar considering) to show the slackers that performance pays is not too unreasonable a tool in any business environment.
If he could drive along the highway and hand the checks to every guy in the trench digging while the other four are leaning on their shovels, now that I would love to see also...