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The pay bill for the state’s top elected officials that was introduced yesterday calls for a 4 percent pay cut for all of them next year, but most would see double-digit increases over the next four years. Reporter Bill Spence reports in today’s Lewiston Tribune that the bill would give the state’s part-time lieutenant governor a 23.3 percent raise over the next four years; the governor would get 8.4 percent, and the attorney general 8.2 percent. All other statewide elected officials would see their pay increase 13.3 percent over the next four years. Click below to read Spence’s full report.
Bill would cut, then boost state pay
By William Spence
Lewiston Tribune
BOISE - Idaho’s statewide elected officers may face pay cuts next year, but most will get double-digit increases over the next four years.
House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, introduced a bill Thursday that would cut the governor’s salary by 4 percent in calendar year 2011, followed by increases of 4 percent, 5 percent and 3 percent in the next three years.
The 4 percent cut and 4 percent increase would apply to other constitutional officers as well, meaning they’d be back to level after two years. Most would then see increases of at least 13.3 percent over the following two years, or about $12,500 per person.
Denney said the bill tries to boost the governor’s pay so it’s comparable with other states.
“Right now, only about 12 states pay their governors less than Idaho,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is get Idaho to where it’s about average for the country. The average is about $130,000; we’ll be at $125,000 in four years.”
Given the bleak prospects for other state employees, Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly, D-Boise, questioned the size of that increase.
“I don’t know how that’s justified,” she said. “It’s not justified by even the best-case economic scenario, and it’s not justified by what the rank-and-file state employees are experiencing. And last I checked, we weren’t having any trouble attracting candidates for office.”
Constitutional officers include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller, treasurer, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction. Their salaries can’t be changed in the middle of a term, so this is the Legislature’s last chance to address the issue until 2014.
If approved, Denney’s bill would reduce the governor’s salary from $115,348 today to $110,734 next year; it would return to $115,348 in 2012, then jump to $121,000 in 2013 and $125,000 in 2014, for an overall increase of 8.4 percent over four years.
The bill also ties pay for other constitutional officers to the governor’s salary. That accounts for the additional increase most would be getting.
The attorney general, for example, would earn 90 percent of what the governor makes. That’s about what the position pays now. The proposed salary would go from $103,984 today to $112,500 in 2014, an 8.2 percent increase.
The lieutenant governor, who currently makes about a quarter what the governor is paid, would jump to 30 percent. Consequently, his salary would increase 23.3 percent over the next four years, going from $30,400 to $37,500.
All other elected officers would see a 13.3 percent increase during this next term; their salaries would rise from $93,756 today to $106,250 in 2014. That’s 85 percent of what the governor makes, up from 81 percent now.
Lewiston Sen. Joe Stegner noted that the lieutenant governor’s job has broadened in scope over time. “It’s really a full-time job now,” he said. “If the pay has gone up (in Denney’s bill), it’s due to a significant change in the job description. It isn’t just a snap decision.”
Over the last 10 to 20 years, Stegner said, constitutional officers have also received smaller pay raises than public school teachers or other state employees.
Figures from the state controller and Legislative Services office indicate the governor’s salary jumped almost 36 percent from 1995 to 2010, the same as the rate of inflation. The average increase for state employees during that period was 44 percent, while teacher pay increased about 48 percent.
Rep. Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, said legislative leadership has been wrestling with this issue for the last month. He proposed giving them the same percentage increase that other state employees get for the next four years.
Legally, however, “we found out we couldn’t do that,” he said. “We had to set a number,” rather than just give a percentage.
Given that his bill recommends a first-year pay cut for statewide officer, Denney said it would be “appropriate” if legislators experienced the same thing. Their pay is set by a six-member citizens committee, which will meet this summer.
“If we’re going to cut everyone else, it’s only appropriate that our own pay be cut,” Denney said.
His constitutional pay bill is one of the “going home” issues that must be settled before the Legislature adjourns. He expected there to be a hearing on the bill, after which it would go to the House and Senate for approval.
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duckster1 on March 20 at 12:10 p.m.
How about the rank and file state employees who are taking 7-10% cuts this year and are looking at the same for next? Or, is this a case of “I’ve got mine, how are you do’in?”