Speaker's Pay Increases May Be Illegal
The News and Observer reported last Saturday that House Speaker Thom Tillis gave pay raises of as much as 27 percent to members of his personal staff, even as he is telling everyone else in state government they must cut their budgets. With all the controversy that has surrounded this session many observers think this might be Tillis’ most serious misstep to date.
Tillis tried to justify the increases, saying he had originally hired people on a provisional basis and the pay increases were based on performance after an initial period of employment. This might be an acceptable and traditional way of hiring in business but not the way things are done in government. When Tillis took office he promised his staff payroll would be smaller than former Speaker Joe Hackney. The N&O’s analysis shows they actually exceed Hackney’s. Chief of Staff Charles Thomas is now paid $150,000, more than the $139,500 salary pay the Governor and perhaps the highest any legislative staff member has ever been paid.
But the raises may be illegal. In 2009 the legislature passed a bill that established a salary freeze for every agency of state government with some very specific exceptions outlined in the bill. A person’s pay can be increased if he or she is promoted, if job duties and responsibilities are significantly increased and there are other instances where pay raises are allowed. Nowhere in the bill, however, is a raise allowed based on job performance or merit. So these pay increases appear to violate the 2009 law.
Below are Speaker Tillis’ staff salaries as of June 7, 2011, as reported by The News and Observer:
Abigail Blackwell, Administrative Assistant, $30,000 Charles Duckett, Director of Admin. Boards and Commissions, $79,170 Bruce Goforth, Policy Adviser, $62,880 Christopher Hayes, Policy Adviser, $82,000 Amy Hobbs, Policy Adviser, $82,000 Susan Horne, Assistant for Constituent Services, $51,480 Jason Kay, General Counsel, $140,000 Wanda Kay, House Caucus Assistant, $40,000 Michael Luethy, $70,000 Dodie Renfer, Director of Operations, $70,000 Jordan Shaw, Director of Communications, $65,000 Katherine Sullivan, Policy Assistant, $36,000 Charles Thomas, Chief of Staff, $150,000 Rhonda Todd, Executive Assistant, $71,071.12 Renee Weaver, House Staff Clerk, $35,525
Tillis total, $1,065,126.12
Hackney total, $969,874.36
As you know politicians do as they please, whether crooks or not!
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What bothers me even more is that apparently we in North Carolina can't mount a recall. Emperors here don't NEED clothes. Can a state's Constitution be unconstitutional for what it leaves out?
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This is clearly another slap in the face to every State Employee, Teacher, and Teacher's Aid being shown the door.
The Speaker's justification is weak at best, and ficton at its worse. One day, these so called cut goverment and create private sector jobs masterminds, will awaken to wonder why the only friend they have is Art Pope.
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No one is state government should have a salary higher than the Governors. A Speaker's personal staff payroll of over a million dollars is unacceptable.
With unemployment above 9 % nationally and realistically much higher and so many North Carolinians jobless, homeless and hungry the speaker should not even have a staff.....
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these salaries are ridiculous and why there needs to be easier third party participation in electoral politics; right now, we have the lesser of two evils!
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When I heard the Speaker's explanation on the radio, WRDU 106.1, the other morning the question that came to mind was; what is their base salary? If it is low, then the increase is justified. However, the numbers tell a different story, and I am very disappointed.
I am curious to know what a Speaker's staff and payroll looked like a hundred years ago. Was it this extravagant? Did they have this many people working for them? Why are this many people needed? If it truly takes this many people to support the Speaker, then I think a reform of the entire process is possibly needed.
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I just wonder when the recall will ever become legal in NC. Isn't it possible that having no recall is illegal? How does the average voter defend himself/herself from voter's remorse?
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Please keep on this story. The public has a right to know about someone talking out of both sides of his mouth. One side reserved for "special" employees and the other for the rest. What is good and reasonable for state employees and retirees is not quite what is needed or merited by these "special" state employees. Which reduced budgetary line did these raises come from? Perhaps from the More at Four Program or the University System or the Criminal Justice or Health Department?
As a retired state employee, I remember years that legislative staffers have received raises when all other state employees did not. It was not right then and times were not nearly as tough as right now. Shame on you Mr. Speaker! I guess you just answered that old question of: "How stupid do you think the people are?" Apparently, pretty stupid, we(as a group) elected you!!!
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There will have a day of rec.when the people go to the polls.Pay is toomuch for temp.jobs.Politics make hones people how to lie and STEAL! R.L.
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As someone who has not had a pay increase in three years due the economy, I think that all state government pay should have been frozen in 2008, and no increases given until the state unemployment rate drops to an acceptable level. I hope that someone in the Legislature will have enough backbone to tell Speaker Tillis that these pay increases should be stopped, and that all members of the Legislature need to downsize their staff. How many policy advisers do they need, and what is an assistant for constituent services? I did not vote for republicans just so they could go to Raleigh and continue the same practices as the democrats. Let them not forget why we elected them!
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Rep. Tillis is setting a very bad example of excessive spending when the Republicans have called for reduced spending. As a taxpayer, I demand that he reduce his staff and the executive pay. Shame, shame Rep. Tillis.
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Tillis has given the Democrats a lot of material for campaign ads for next year. I cannot believe that he has approved these huge raises for his staff. The GOP does not need this right now. Double-digit salary increases are the last thing state employees need to see happening to people working on a high ranking legislator's staff. And this is tax money he's using, don't forget that.
It is just unbelievable. There is no justification for it, I don't care if he does say those people deserve it. I know many of my colleagues in the Dept. of Correction that work in dangerous situations every day that are at least as deserving of a pay raise as anyone on Tillis' staff.
And while I'm here, let me also say that the demonstration by those "teachers" yesterday at the legislature was shameful. There is no excuse for using first-graders to make their political points.
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Go to www.telltillis.com and let Speaker Tillis know what you think of him giving his staff fat raises while cutting education funding. Sign the petition telling him to give that money back to the taxpayers!
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I condemn this irresponsible action by Tillis. However, how many of the other NC legislators gave salary increases to their staff? No one is investigatin this question, focusing only on Tillis. Yet, where there is smoke there is firs. Someone should carefully investigate how many legislators and politicians gave salary increases at a time when all of NC citizens are on a heavy austerity program. State employees and SS recipients have not received COLAs in three years. Are all politicans crooks? Have they stopped beating the citizens yet?
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The people of North Carolina have been robbed at midnight by speaker Tillis who "rewards" his staff with fat raises for supporting a budget that will push thousands of people into unemployment and poverty-I vow to remember what he's done and vote accordingly next election.
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As a sidebar to my previous comment, if Mr. Tillis pays his chief of staff $150k/yr, then how much is he himself paid? Let's find out.
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