· June 10, 2013

Pay Raises for Kasich Appointees?

A quick read of one of the Legislative Services Commission’s budget comparison documents this past weekend reminded me of a provision in the massive, two-year spending plan that hasn’t received much attention. Current law provides for five senior employees to be involved in policy implementation and development at each state agency.  These positions are unclassified, meaning there is no competitive process to apply for them, they merely serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority – in this case the Governor or his cabinet members. They may even be employees who are paid by an agency but work directly out of the Governor’s office. A provision in Kasich’s two-year budget — retained by House and Senate lawmakers — increases the amount these appointees can be paid from $102,960 to $134,056 annually:

If you’re a cop or firefighter in a community struggling with cuts in state funding, this budget offers little. But if you’re lucky enough to be a political friend of the Governor, you may have a 30% raise coming.