Gov. Jay Nixon should work with Missouri lawmakers next year to find the money needed to give state employees a pay raise, House Speaker Todd Richardson and Budget Chairman Tom Flanigan said Wednesday.
"We have continued to downsize the size of government and asked our employees to find ways to do more with less, which they have done," Flanigan, R-Carthage, said in a news release. "My hope is that the governor will work with us to create a fiscally responsible spending plan that will provide a necessary pay raise for our state employees."
Richardson and Flanigan said the state's improving economic picture for the state has the potential to allow for enhanced funding for priorities such as education - and for a modest pay increase for state employees in the state budget year that begins next July 1.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Missouri state employees ranking last among all states in 2013, with an average yearly salary of $39,993 per employee.
"As the only state in the nation with an average yearly salary under $40,000, it is clear we must begin to take steps to adequately compensate the Missourians who work so diligently as state employees," Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said.
"We can't make up the significant pay gap that exists in one budget, but if the governor actively works with us, I know we can find the revenues necessary to provide better compensation for our state workers."
State Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City - and chairman of a special committee studying state employees' pay and benefits packages - said Wednesday: "If we want to attract and retain a talented and dedicated workforce, we must find a way to pay them a competitive wage.
"I am pleased to see Speaker Richardson and Chairman Flanigan propose this plan, and hopeful the governor will now work with the legislature to push a much-needed, substantive pay increase across the finish line and into effect."
Both Richardson and Flanigan emphasized the need for the state to work to retain talented employees - and noted the state can achieve cost savings by improving retention rates and reducing the need for job training for new hires.
They said with increasing state revenues, a modest pay raise would be affordable within existing revenue streams.
Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said Wednesday evening that "no decisions have been made yet" on the budget for the 2016-17 business year.
The governor must submit his budget proposal to lawmakers in January.