They would prefer a better deal, but several Mid-Missouri lawmakers said Tuesday the budget compromise for state employees' pay appears to be the best deal available.
"Last year, I didn't have any good news for state employees," Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, explained, "and this year, we were able to get $700 for everybody under $70,000, and 1 percent for people over $70,000."
Missouri state employees rank last among the states in average employee pay.
Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, said: "It's a bad thing in my mind, but I'm not going to be critical of the budget process - even though I'm hopeful that we can always try to figure out a way to get additional funds to state workers, because of the dismal pay ranking that we have."
Although the raises won't begin until January, Senate Appropriations Chairman Dan Brown, R-Rolla, said that delay actually will be better for state employees than if the pay increases began July 1, which is the start of the state's business year.
"When we became aware that Missouri Consolidated - the health care for state workers - was going to have to raise premiums almost double what the pay raise was going to be, in my mind, this was a lost deal," he explained.
"So, we came up with a little over $16 million extra to put into Missouri Consolidated, and that's going to keep the premium rate pretty level."
But that money was available only through the pay raise delay, he said.
And "it's not going to prevent the plans from changing," Brown added. "They're going to go from $300 and $600 deductible, to $750 and $1,000 deductible.
"To have stopped that would have required about another $45 million general revenue - which we don't have."
Brown and other senators also pushed for an extra raise for the lowest levels of Corrections officers, which Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, appreciated for his constituents who work in the Fulton and other Mid-Missouri prison facilities.
"Corrections officers are also getting a $350 increase on top of that $700," he noted. "That's going to be really good for them."
Brown added: "Some people say that's not fair, but the problem that we're running into in Corrections is, it costs us a lot to train those folks.
"They have a huge responsibility and it's a very dangerous job - so, when they become certified and they've gone through all the training, when somebody comes along and offers them a lot more money, they leave."
Without more, and better-paid, Corrections officers, Brown said, "My fear is, we're headed for a prison riot or something like that.
"I think we'll keep a lot of people from leaving, with the additional raises they're going to get."
Fitzwater said the House and Senate budget writers "did their best to ensure that state employees weren't hit by a budget that can't hit all the priorities that we want to, but yes, I think it's a really good compromise."
Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, said: "We had so many things that we had to address, and one of them is - a top priority for me are - the state employees.
"But we also have transportation funding - especially needed for our rural school districts.
"And we have nursing homes that are in a terrible fix in some of these smaller towns not being paid what it costs to house our constituents there."
Kehoe said he thinks more lawmakers are understanding the need to improve state employee pay.
"The more that we bring light to the people who come into this building, to understand what it's going to take to fix the long-term pay for our state employees, the better off we are," he said. "I'm sure state employees who read this article are thinking, 'That's absolutely crazy!'
"But it takes a long time to turn this ship around - but I believe we're going to get it done (and) we're making the right steps to get there."