The lawmakers of Washington and Governor receive great promotions – Centralia Chronicle

By Jerry Kornfield / State State Washington State

The governor of Washington, the Prosecutor General and the State Legislators are on the line for major salaries increases over the next two years.

And salaries for the seven other executives and hundreds of judges will also climb – albeit not so fast – as a result of decisions on Wednesday by the Independent Civil Commission, which determines the scale for payment of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the state.

Legislators will receive a 16% increase in salaries, and the governor and prosecutor General will receive a 14% increase according to the new salaries approved at a TUMWater meeting by the Washington Commission for Citizens for Selected Employees.

The commissioners agreed that each position should receive a cost adjustment of 3% to 1 and 2% a year later. Then they set out with the two executive positions for the legislators.

Dollars and cents

Legislators, who are currently winning $ 61,997 a year, will receive a total of a 9% increase in July, resulting in $ 67,688 and 7% a year later, pushing their salary to $ 72,494. The leaders of the four causes will continue to win more because they receive a scholarship for additional responsibilities.

Governor Bob Ferguson and General Prosecutor Nick Brown will receive 7% increases in each of the next two fiscal years – a big jump from The 5% increase in two years that the commissioners suggested in OctoberS Changes approved on Wednesday will push Ferguson’s annual $ 204,205 to $ 234,275 salary, and Brown from $ 193,169 to $ 221,614.

The seven other CEO of Washington Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, Head of Public Instructions, Insurance Commissioner, Treasurer and Commissioner for Public Land will only receive a life cost adjustments.

Judges, including the judges of the Supreme Court of the State, will receive an increase of 4% in July and 3% a year later.

Selected employees and judges cannot change what the Commission approves, and the legislature and the governor must finance the budget pay changes.

When the salary schedule is submitted to the Secretary of State, there will be a period of 90 days in which a referendum can be filed. If not filed, salaries will become a law.

Commissioners said on Wednesday, As they have throughout the processThey did not believe that the payment of legislators and these two state leaders were up to date with inflation, and more importantly, the growing demands at workplaces.

If the legislator’s salaries are too low, people like working parents, small business owners and young adults will feel that they cannot afford to serve what is intended to be a legislative body for citizens. If they do it, they may not be able to spend so much time on their duties because they cannot afford to miss their daily work.

“If we want to encourage them to be connected to their constituencies, we have to give them more time for it,” said Commissioner Kirsten Baron.

But commissioners They had their limits. The proposal to increase the payment of legislators an additional $ 10,000 was predominantly defeated due to fears of a negative public reaction.

“If we continue too fast on this, it will sink all the work,” said Commissioner Eric Arnold.

John Bridge, the chairman of the committee, said they should bear a budget shortage and how the public could respond to what he perceived as a very big increase. A successful referendum means the whole salary schedule “goes out the window” and there are no increases for members of the legislative, executive and court branches for two years.

Wednesday’s hearing was the fourth of the first panel of the first schedule In October.

Two -year rite

The voters set up the salaries committee in 1987 to end the practice of politicians who decide their own pay. Although funded by the state, it acts regardless of the legislative, executive and court branches.

This 17 unpaid members Include residents on a random basis, elected by the 10 Congress of the Congress of the State, plus business representatives, organized work and higher education. Legal and human resources are also presented.

Every two years, this panel gathers to consider pay changes. The commissioners are assumed to establish decisions of the duties of the work – not the man or the woman who do it at the time. They do not need to give any increases, but they cannot reduce the salary of anyone in service.