The Arkansas commission responsible for setting salaries of the state's elected officials on Friday proposed increasing the pay of judges and prosecutors by 2% and then compounding that increase with a 5% raise.
With commissioner Tommy May dissenting, the Independent Citizens Commission voted 6-1 to propose this pay raise package for judges and prosecutors.
The commission decided to meet on Nov. 18 to accept additional public comment on the proposed pay raises before taking final action on them. The public also can provide written comment on the proposed pay raises at the commission’s website: www.citizenscommission.arkansas.gov
The commission proposed the pay raises after officials representing the state’s court judges and prosecuting attorneys asked the commission about a month ago to grant judges and prosecutors salary increases to help them keep up with inflation.
The proposal comes after Gov. Asa Hutchinson authorized a 2% increase for executive branch employees in February, citing rising inflation, and authorized state agencies in the executive branch in May to use up to 5% of their total payroll costs for merit raises for fiscal 2023, which started July 1.
The salary of the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court is $205,324 a year, while the salaries of the six associate justices on the state Supreme Court are $190,126 a year.
Judges on the state Court of Appeals make $184,497 a year, and the chief judge on that court is paid $187,311.
Circuit court judges are paid $180,129 a year, and state district court judges are paid $157,613 a year.
Full-time prosecuting attorneys are paid $171,122 a year, while part-time prosecuting attorneys are paid $145,454 a year.
The Arkansas Independent Citizens Commission was created under Constitutional Amendment 94, approved by voters in November of 2014. Before Amendment 94, the Legislature set the salaries of the state’s elected officials.