Why It's Going Cost $50 Million to Run The Legislature

41 legislative employees make
more than the Governor. 5 of them work in the Legislative Law Library.
These figures are the FY04 base salaries. The top ten salaries are as follows:Executive Director of the Legislative Council - $117,979
Director of the Office of the Revisor of Statutes - $107,222
Director of the Office of Legislative Information Services - $ - 107,222
Clerk of the House - $107,222
State Law Librarian - $107,222
Director of the Office of Policy & Legal Analysis - $101,941
Secretary of the Senate - $101,142
Director of the Office of Fiscal & Program Review - $99,544
Assistant Secretary of the Senate - $97,502
Deputy Director - $97,502Of those that make less than the Governor, 48 make more than $50,000 but
less than $70,000. 44 employees make between $40,000 and $50,000.

While a large part of the working people of Maine work for minimum wage.
Bud[ 03-07-2003: Message edited by: budlandry@mid ][ 03-07-2003: Message edited by: budlandry@mid ]

This is Democrat maine. The only growth industry is government. Where do you think the vast taxes go?? ;)

Doug...1. Where did you get the salary numbers? I'd like a list of all 211 positions, their salaries and the names of the people currently holding those positions. This information should be in the public domain and available to citizens. I'd just love to examine who is related to whom on that bloated legislative payroll. I would suspect that we would find it a real "Hack-o-Rama".2. In looking at the Governor's salary, don't forget that the Governor also has a $31,000, tax-free, no strings attached expense stipend and numerous other tax-free amenities plus a very rich pension plan for for him/her and his/her spouse. Don't worry, the Maine governor does very, very well indeed.

Do you supppose the GNP or Dexter Shoe workers are getting this kind of pay.

The Governor of the State of Maine receives an annual salary of $70,000 and you say he is doing "very, very well?" He could do better running the restaurant, don't you think?You describe $26,250 as a "very rich pension plan?"Let me ask you, if a Republican governor was in the Blaine House would you make the same comments?

A: Baldacci never made $70,000 before he was elected to Congress. The pension is also very good for only 8 years of work.That said: I don't think we overpay the Governor.

George,Correction: The governor is entitled to a pension even if he has only served for one term.

quote:1. Terms and conditions. Any former Governor and any surviving spouse of a deceased Governor or former Governor is entitled, upon application and upon reaching age 60, to a retirement allowance . . .

Governor's Retirement AllowanceA Short for Arthur

The governor is not overpaid, regardless if he or she is a member of either party. These people listed here are grossly overpaid. They have no shame.

A...The governor of Maine is very well paid. And I would make the same comments if he/she were a Dem, Pubbie, or Independent.Here is a quick look at the comp package offered the Governor. Remember that you have to GROSS UP the dollars by 33% Federal and 8.5% State.Base Salary : 70,000
Expense Acct: 42,450
Vehicle : 12,000
Driver/Secur: 56,800
Cook : 42,600
Housekeeper : 35,000
Pension : 26,250
Housing : 25,000
Insurance : 15,000
======
Total 325,100That is a nice package.

Arthur signing Joe's posts! It appears A=Joe.

quote:Originally posted by George:
Arthur signing Joe's posts! It appears A=Joe.

oh damn! i thought i had some libertarian company for real! that's cool A. seems like the kind of progressive an anarchist could like :)

Mr. Threeputt,Sir, with all due respect, that is a bogus analysis.Base Salary : 70,000
This is his salary.
=======================
Expense Acct: 42,450
This is not a salary. It is used to defer expenses that he never would have had were he not governor.
========================
Vehicle : 12,000
Driver/Secur: 56,800
Cook : 42,600
Housekeeper : 35,000
Housing : 25,000
Insurance : 15,000
This on not income. These expenditures are necessary to provide him transportation to perform his duties as governor, provide for his security, and maintain the Blaine House by statute.
==========================
Pension : 26,250
This sum is paid only if the governor reaches retirement age and is paid only if he applies for it.
==========================Total 325,100
Less 225,000 Monies not paid to the governor.
========
70,000 Actual Salary - NOT "a very nice package."A Short for Arthur

quote:Originally posted by Voltairine De Cleyre:
oh damn! i thought i had some libertarian company for real! that's cool A. seems like the kind of progressive an anarchist could like :)

Joe's post quickly disappeared, replaced by the exact same post from A, but we caught him.
:p

quote:Originally posted by George:
Joe's post quickly disappeared, replaced by the exact same post from A, but we caught him.
:p

hey maybe it's really Snowalker![ 03-07-2003: Message edited by: Voltairine De Cleyre ]

A (or B) (or Joe)...Concerning the $30,000 expense account. Since the Governor is not asked to submit any back up for the $30,000, how do you know that he is spending the $30,000 on expenses related to being governor?You don't and no one except the governor knows. There is ZERO accountability for this expense item.

Always uses the same name...

Don't you guys have any outrage about the salaries that are posted here? Don't you think $107,000 a year for someone being a librarian a little high? The Clerk of the House at $103,000? I think you have gone far off from this thread.

I would not dare say that these salaries are not high, but just remember...you want qualified experienced people doing these jobs. Therefore you have to pay somewhat in line with top management at large firms. Otherwise you will just get even more crappy laws. God knows we don't always get the highest quality representatives and senators (of EITHER party). I hope the staff at the state house is able to hold things together.Again,
Concerned.

There is a difference between professional jobs and political jobs. The salaries of the non-partisan staff are high, but are not ridiculously high. Most of the people holding the jobs listed have masters degrees or law degrees. The Legislature has to be competitive with other employers to get qualified people. The salaries that are totally unjustified are those for Clerk and Assistant Clerk of the House and Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Senate. Those jobs are political patronage jobs and the people holding them would not walk out of the State House and into jobs that pay anything close to those amounts.

I asked for a list of the 211 employees from a Senior Republican legislator. Either he hasn't had enough time to get the list or he is ignoring me. Either way, I haven't heard back from him.

Despite what I wrote above, the legislature does take care of their own employees better than they do many others in state government. For example, the starting salaries for Assistant District Attorneys is only $38,000 a year.

George-Wake up and smell the roses. These people are making far better than the average person. Do a little comparing, teachers with 30 years service get less than $40,000 in most places. Factory workers, if there are any, get less than that. Pay in the legislature is at scandal level. Go ask any state employee that doesn't work for the legislature. They have their summers off. How many unemployed lawyers are there? Think about this.

Threeputt:From my understanding he will only be able to get you the names of the elected officials and appointed officials and what they make. Names of staff will not be available, but you can find out what they make. I am just not sure where it would be. (Appointed and elected officials will get you the names of all the high up people)Concerned

If an employee is working for the state of Maine, why isn't his/her salary a matter of public record?

quote:Originally posted by SAM ADAMS 2:
George-Wake up and smell the roses. These people are making far better than the average person. Do a little comparing, teachers with 30 years service get less than $40,000 in most places. Factory workers, if there are any, get less than that. Pay in the legislature is at scandal level. Go ask any state employee that doesn't work for the legislature. They have their summers off. How many unemployed lawyers are there? Think about this.

Sorry, but this is not quite right. The AVERAGE salary for a classroom teacher in maine according to the Dept of ED web site in 2001-2002 was $37,721. AVERAGE, which means for every beginning teacher making say $28,000 you have a senior teacher making say $48K. In Maine a career teacher with 30 years experience makes a whole lot more than you think.

So if they are required to be in the classroom for 175 days, and the average private sector employee works 50 weeks at 5 days (250), to annualize the wages one would have to inflate the annual salary by 42.8%. So the average teacher, adjusted to the private sector, makes $37,721 x 1.428 or $53,865. Add to that a very nice fringe benefit package, likely much nicer than most private sector packages.There is no question that teachers are professionals and that they have a difficult job. It appears that they are compensated accordingly.The normal response to this analysis is "yeah but" what about the time spent at home correcting papers, preparing lesson plans, chaperone duty, etc. Having worked in the the private sector for many years, I can tell you that I rarely got to work later than 7:30 AM and got home before 6:00 PM, spent many hours working at home evenings and weekends just like the teachers. And most of my classmates that went on to be teachers are just like me, retired!I'm not saying that teachers are paid too much. In fact, I think the best teachers should be paid more (and the worst... fired). But I think that we should be analytical in comparing teachers salaries to the private sector.

Three-putt:Their salary is a matter of public record. But your first post on this thread also asked for names. FOr people that are't elected or appointed you can get salaries, but not names.COncerned

quote:Originally posted by Concerned:
Their salary is a matter of public record. But your first post on this thread also asked for names. FOr people that are't elected or appointed you can get salaries, but not names.

How come?

I just looked up the issue in the Joint rules. ALL OF IT is available. I now know who to get it from (Clerks of Senate and House and Director of the Legislative Council). I'll be asking Wednesday.