On the matter of salary increases for lawmakers and statewide elected officials, we line up behind the opponents.
Two Jefferson City Republicans, Rep. Jay Barnes and Sen. Mike Kehoe, have said they intend to reject a recommendation by the Citizens' Committee on Compensation for Elected Officials. The panel has proposed an eight percent raise for statewide elected officials and an 11 percent hike for lawmakers.
In what we consider one of the most deplorable processes in government, the raises automatically would become effective unless lawmakers vote by Feb. 1 to block them. The procedure allows legislators to receive higher pay without the accountability of approving it.
Barnes, however, intends to back up his vocal opposition with a resolution he intends to file in December. 1. At least two thirds of the members in each chamber - 109 in the House and 23 in the Senate - must vote against the recommendation to block it.
The case against the pay hikes rests on two arguments - one based on comparative fairness, the other on the principle of public service.
Both Barnes and Kehoe recoiled from the recommendation, based in part on pay comparisons with rank-and-file state employees.
Among the states, Missouri lawmakers now rank 16th and statewide elected officials near the middle. In contrast, state workers rank at or near the bottom.
Barnes characterized the proposal as "an insult to state employees." He added: "Legislators don't need a raise, and shouldn't get one unless and until we raise state employee pay out of the basement."
Kehoe added: "Before the governor, other elected officials, or the Legislature get a raise, we need a plan in place and in effect that ensures our state employees are being compensated in a manner that is competitive with their peers in other states."
In a column published in the Nov. 23 News Tribune, Barnes advanced another argument - this one based on the principle of public service. If the pay raises take effect, he said, "we'd lose the primary benefit of a citizen legislature, and we'd attract people seeking the job as a lucrative career path, and not for the right reasons of public service."
He concluded: "Missouri government would become a little more like Washington - which is the last thing we need."
We have no objection to fair compensation, but the recommendation is unfair, comparatively, and unnecessary, as a matter of principle.
We encourage lawmakers to reject the proposal.