A panel tasked with setting salaries for elected officials has raised pay for prosecutors by more than 23 percent, finalizing a process that earlier included more than doubling legislators' pay.
The Independent Citizens Commission met Wednesday to hear public comment and then vote to accept or reject a plan it preliminarily endorsed last month to raise full-time prosecutor pay from $123,162 to $152,000, a 23.4 percent increase.
But no one showed up to speak and the commission quickly moved on to the vote, which was unanimous and came without discussion among the commissioners.
Chairman Larry Ross called it a "little bit surprising" that no one showed up to speak on the proposal, though he said it might have been because prosecutors "did a wonderful job in presenting their case" for the higher pay. The panel's website shows several comments were received by email in roughly the last month, with five comments favoring the raises and three expressing reservations.
Larry Jegley, Pulaski County prosecuting attorney and president of the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association, had earlier addressed the commission and asked for the raise, noting that it would bring prosecutors to 95 percent of the salary circuit judges make.
He said prosecutors have wide-ranging responsibilities and the higher pay and better retirement benefits of judges often encourage prosecutors to run for those positions instead.
"I think the commission listened intently to our presentations and saw the important work that prosecutors do," he said. "I'm very pleased, not only myself, but certainly my colleagues and future occupants of the office after us senior folks have long-retired."
Twenty-five of the state's 28 prosecutors will get the $152,000 salary. Three others who are allowed to practice limited, private civil cases outside of their prosecutorial duties were previously paid 85 percent of the full-time prosecutors' pay. The panel kept that percentage system in place, setting the pay for those prosecutors at $129,200, or 85 percent of $152,000.
The higher pay will go into effect in 10 days.
Prosecutors had initially been left out of the ballot measure that created the Independent Citizens Commission. The commission previously raised pay for all constitutional officers except lieutenant governor and for legislators, whose salary was more than doubled to $39,400 on the condition that $14,400 in office expense reimbursements be done away with.
Ross said the commission will likely meet again in October to review economic conditions in the state and possible cost-of-living adjustments.
He said he was pleased with the progress made so far.
"I think it's a relative start since Arkansas was behind. And at least we have a platform now that we can move from that is equitable throughout the region as well as the United States and knowing that at least our salaries as far as elected officials are somewhat comparable."
