Legislators study of state workers’ pay faces deadline

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Missouri Legislature’s 10-member Joint Committee on State Employee Wages has a Dec. 31 deadline for telling the House and Senate budget committees what it’s going to recommend as “strategies for increasing the wages of Missouri’s state employees, so Missouri will no longer rank 50th among states regarding state worker wages.”

Gov. Jay Nixon proposed a state pay raise for the 2009-10 business year — his first as governor — but lawmakers didn’t include it in that budget because of the state’s tight financial situation.

He’s told the legislature’s leaders he’ll propose a 2 percent “cost-of-living” increase for all state employees in the 2012-13 business year that begins next July 1.

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nozepicker 1 year, 6 months ago

Our state workers are 50th in pay and benefits but our state legislators are ranked 13th. The voters need to be the ones to grant raises for the elected, not them.

JCsleeper 1 year, 6 months ago

Grandstanding. Maybe it'll get 'em to 49th. Sad.

docofficer 1 year, 6 months ago

Thanks Governor Nixon, for proposing a 2% raise for state employees. At my current salary level, IF I got the raise, I would make a whopping $600 more per year. Broken down into 52 weeks, that would be an extra $11.54 per week, BEFORE TAXES! Add that to increasingly expensive health insurance, with its equally wonderful decreasing coverage, long hours coupled with the virtual elimination of the ability to earn overtime, no other raises in the last several years and the fact the actual cost of living has gone up far more than 2% in those years, and I guess I should feel blessed! And there are those in state government wondering why it's difficult to retain quality employees. Go figure!