Thursday, November 16, 2017

What would a 8.8% statewide elected officials' pay cut save?



The Legislative Compensation Board is cutting legislative salaries by 8.8% (from $38,400 to $35,021), eliminating a little over $500,000 in spending. Compared to some of our statewide elected officials, legislators earn peanuts. What could the state save if it cut all statewide elected officials' pay by the same percentage? Let's take a look.

Here is the current pay rate for each of Oklahoma's statewide elected officials:
  • Governor: $147,000.00
  • Attorney General: $132,825.00
  • State Superintendent of Public Instruction: $124,373.00
  • Lieutenant Governor: $114,713.00
  • Corporation Commissioner: $114,713.00
  • Corporation Commissioner: $114,713.00
  • Corporation Commissioner: $114,713.00
  • State Auditor & Inspector: $114,713.00
  • State Insurance Commissioner: $114,713.00
  • State Treasurer: $114,713.00
  • Commissioner of Labor: $105,053.00
  • TOTAL OF SALARIES: $1,312,242.00

If each of those officials had their pay cut by the same rate as legislators (8.8%), here's what would result:
  • Governor: $134,064.00 (cut of $12,936)
  • Attorney General: $121,136.40 (cut of $11,688.60)
  • State Superintendent of Public Instruction: $113,428.18 (cut of $10,944.82)
  • Lieutenant Governor: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • Corporation Commissioner: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • Corporation Commissioner: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • Corporation Commissioner: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • State Auditor & Inspector: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • State Insurance Commissioner: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • State Treasurer: $104,618.26 (cut of $10,094.74)
  • Commissioner of Labor: $95,808.34 (cut of $9,244.66)
  • TOTAL OF SALARIES: $1,196,764.74 

An 8.8% cut would save $115,477.26, just under $10,500 per elected official, more than three times the legislative salary cut of about $3,380 per legislator.

Unlike legislative pay (set by a board), the salaries of the statewide officials are set by statute - most recently, SB549 (passed in 2015).

This doesn't even touch the high salaries paid to many cabinet and agency heads or employees, many over which are paid in excess of $140,000.

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