Give the Governor a Raise, Special Advisory Commission Says
A Special Advisory Commission tasked with reviewing compensation for state officials recommended pay hikes for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and other elected state officials.
The report, released Monday morning, recommended that the governor be paid $185,000 — nearly a 22 percent increase from the $151,800 salary Deval Patrick collected this year.
Sounds like a big chunk of change, but it’s worth noting that though the governor is the highest ranking elected official in the state, he isn’t the highest paid. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will earn $175,481 this year, while the city’s police commissioner, William Evans, makes $174,000. In October, Boston City Council officials were hoping to bump up their own salaries by 29 percent, to $112,500. They ended up voting to raise their salaries to $107,500, only for Walsh to veto the raise.
“[T]he Governor of Massachusetts is paid a salary not commensurate with his/her responsibilities,’’ the report reads. “The current salary does not reflect the foundational role that the Governor plays in the functioning of an honest, efficient, and professional government that can enjoy the trust and confidence of the public it serves.’’
The Commission’s report also suggested that the governor be given $65,000 to spend on housing near Beacon Hill. Massachusetts is currently one of only six states that neither provides a formal gubernatorial residence nor a housing allowance. With the allowance, he would pull in $250,000 annually.
These recommendations would need to be approved by the legislature and governor before they can be implemented. Governor-elect Charlie Baker, however, has balked at the subject of pay raises for the state’s top elected officials, The Boston Globe reported last week.
“Given all the issues that are now before the legislature and the governor, I think putting this off would be the right thing to do,’’ he said.
In addition to a pay hike for the governor, the commission suggested raises for the lieutenant governor (from $134,952 to $165,000), the attorney general ($130,582 to $175,000), and House Speaker and Senate President ($102,279 to $175,000). It also recommended adjusting salaries of those officials every two years based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and establishing future special advisory commissions every two years to review compensation.
Top officials aren’t the only people who might be getting a raise: Just before Thanksgiving, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo quietly announced a 6 percent pay raise for all State House employees, whose salaries have not changed in two years. In a statement, DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell said that these raises totaled $1.6 million and nearly 60 percent of House employees make under $40,000 a year.
The seven-member commission was chaired by Ira A. Jackson, interim Dean of the School of Public Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston — included local leaders such as Dean of the Simmons School of Management Cathy Minehan and President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Michael J. Widmer. It held two hearings last month in Boston and Springfield to collect public input.
“We are unanimous and united in support of the reforms and recommendations that we are submitting today,’’ Jackson said. “If adopted, we believe they will help strengthen our democracy, serve to attract talented individuals broadly representative of the public being served, and help to modernize the management of state government.’’
You can read the full text of the report here.
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