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The state could save 300 million dollars by eliminating the middle man. There is an average of one manager for every four employees in state government. As Whitney Ray tells us, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer says 4,600 could be weeded out over the next year and a half.

120-thousand Floridians are employed by the state. Their salaries and benefits, like health insurance and retirement, cost taxpayers 7.4 billion dollars a year. Lawmakers are considering pay reductions and layoffs to save money. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink says there’s a better way. She’s cutting middle management.

“We don’t need to be micromanaging those state employees who are serving customers,” said Sink.

There’s an average of one manager for every four employees in state government. Sink says lowering the ratio to 1 in 7 would save the state 300 million dollars.

With that much money you could build three of these arenas where Florida State plays basketball, film Avatar, the most expensive movie ever, or buy 100 million Whoppers. But lawmakers would likely use the money for schools, roads, and prisons. Department of Financial Services Chief of Staff Tammy Teston says the plan could be carried out quickly and without layoffs.

“We would be able to accomplish the CFO’s vision within 12 to 18 months without any problems just based on the amount of turnover we have seen every year,” said Teston.

We spoke with several state employees, who didn’t want to go on camera in fear of losing their jobs. One worker said there are six employees in his office and three managers.

The move to fewer managers is already underway in the CFO’s office and is expected to save 10 million dollars a year. The move to a statewide reduction could be left up to lawmakers in charge of writing next year’s budget.