"Give those politicians a pay raise!"
File that comment under the category "Things Seldom Heard At The Local Diner."
What’s the point?
A citizens’ commission on salaries for state government leaders appears headed in the right direction to establish a fair approach to compensation.
But Arkansans who went to the polls last November did just that. Amendment 94 to the Arkansas Constitution, which voters approved as Issue 3 on the November ballot, created a citizen's commission to establish the salary rates for the state's seven constitutional officers as well as for members of the state Senate and House of Representatives. Issue 3 had been referred to the people by the Arkansas General Assembly and represented a hodge-podge of government issues ranging from ethics reforms, extension of term limits for state lawmakers and bans on certain contributions to candidates.
In that mish-mash of changes, it's pretty hard to tell to what extent a mechanism to set pay for the state's leaders was front and center in voters' minds, but they backed it nonetheless. Now, a seven-member commission has until Monday to make its initial recommendations. Future salary changes cannot exceed 15 percent, so the commission's first decisions are pretty critical to correcting any historical shortcomings in the way the state compensates the people who lead state government.
Here's a little refresher, for those who rightly might be more concerned with their own paychecks rather than the ones at the state Capitol: The governor makes $87,759 a year. The part-time lieutenant governor pulls down $42,315. State representatives and senators make $15,869. The speaker of the House and Senate president each get a $1,902 stipend for those leadership roles.
The tricky part of legislators is the per diem, mileage reimbursement and other expense allowed by the state. On average, lawmakers were paid $35,333 each to cover those allowances.
Attorney general is paid $73,132. The secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and land commissioner each make $54,848 a year.
So, how much should these positions be paid? Definitely more -- except for the lieutenant governor.
Members of the citizens' commission have rightly called the governor's compensation an embarrassment. Oh, sure, seeking election is about public service, but pay also shouldn't be a deterrent to good people running. The kinds of people who need to lead the state can make -- and often do -- far more in the private sector. The state shouldn't try to match private sector rates, but Arkansans should want its governor to be fairly compensated.
Even at the highest compensation now being considered -- $170,000 -- the governor will still make significantly less than any assistant coach on the Razorbacks football team. Which is more important, leading the state or leading the Hogs? On second thought, don't answer that.
Other possible salaries include attorney general, $105,000 to $121,000; $95,000 for secretary of state, the state official in charge of elections; and $80,000 to $85,000 for the remaining constitutional officers.The commission agreed on Monday to recommend $25,000 annually as compensation for state lawmakers, which sounds like a fair number. But Arkansans are right to be concerned with a simple continuation of per diem and expense policies that have been used -- some would say abused -- for years to milk significant money out of the public accounts. Those standards should be tightened. Pay lawmakers for direct expenses necessary for their work, but nothing more.The commission appears to be headed toward reasonable rates for state officeholders. Perhaps Arkansans recognized last November that the pay schedule for strong leadership had gotten out of whack. The commission still has its decision to make, but appears to be headed in a justifiable direction when it comes to compensation.
Commentary on 01/29/2015