Some Kansas Republican employees getting special pay bonuses / LJWorld.com

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May 5, 2009

Topeka — Republican leaders who have pushed for cuts in state employee pay have been generous paying their own staffs, according to state payroll records.

For example, Brent Haden, chief of staff to House Speaker Mike O’Neal, received a one-time payment of $20,000 during his first week of employment in January, according to the records. The payment is listed as a pay rate adjustment. Haden makes $90,000 per year.

Last week, House Republican leaders proposed state employee furloughs, but then backed off that and instead pushed for a 5 percent pay cut for all state employees. That was later abandoned under a firestorm of criticism.

But state employees still may face further damage to their wallets as lawmakers work to fix a $328 million deficit. A Senate plan would require that $26 million be cut from state personnel costs.

Peter Freund, chief of staff to House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, makes $73,000 per year. He has received one-time payments, listed as pay rate adjustments, of $2,600, $7,000 and $2,308 in 2006, 2007 and last December, respectively. In September 2007 he left state employment briefly and his final paycheck was for $16,081, which may include vacation leave, according to state records.

Ryan Gilliland, chief of staff to House Speaker Pro Tem Arlen Siegfreid, R-Olathe, received a one-time pay rate adjustment of $5,000 in December. He makes $48,000 a year.

Wade Hapgood, media and communications director for the House Republican Caucus staff, makes $50,466 per year. He received a one-time pay rate adjustment of $2,548 in December.

The pay information for the highest-ranking House GOP leadership staff was obtained through a Kansas Open Records request by the Lawrence Journal-World.

When asked to respond to the information, Haden said the House GOP leadership would have no comment.

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Discussion

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5 May 2009
at 10:38 a.m.

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deathpenaltyliberal (Anonymous) says…

I see that the party of “fiscal discipline”, that wants to cut state workers pay, is very generous with their own members. Another example of conviction and honor from the Republican Party.
5 May 2009
at 10:41 a.m.

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Practicality (Anonymous) says…

People must not have read this story yet. I expected a fire storm of comments about this. Where is the outrage?
5 May 2009
at 10:42 a.m.

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Parrysmom (Anonymous) says…

It gets old hearing about the Republicans did this and Democrats did that. They are all politicians and both sides get raises and bonuses no matter what. While the rest of the non-politician society works their tails off and live paycheck to paycheck, the politicians get to vote on their own pay raises and bonuses.

Political parties need to be done away with. All politicians need to be given terms. Short terms. What would be even better, is if it was a volunteer only basis! Then you would really have people in there who truly want to be there for the good of the country. Not just because they can turn the American public upside down and shake every penny out of their pockets.
5 May 2009
at 10:43 a.m.

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rgh (Anonymous) says…

Cut, cut, cut;

Oops, you're not cutting any of my salary for making those decisions. Sound like Enron and bailed out banks? These are our state legislators doing this to ALL of us!!
5 May 2009
at 10:46 a.m.

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MeAndFannieLou (Anonymous) says…

Thank you, Scott R. for reporting on this!
5 May 2009
at 10:53 a.m.

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xbusguy (Anonymous) says…

Gotta love this one. Where is Dorothy when we need her??
5 May 2009
at 11:04 a.m.

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4chewnut (Anonymous) says…

A bunch of jerks. They TELL people they are fiscal conservatives unless they want it for themselves or friends.

5 May 2009
at 11:05 a.m.

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srj (Anonymous) says…

Lets give the old JLW credit for getting this info!
5 May 2009
at 11:06 a.m.

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truman1902 (Anonymous) says…

Geez, Speaker O'Neal, can you come within a zipcode of spotting the rank injustice here?? I'm all for the pursuit of as many dollars as one can turn over legally, but attempting to saddle the burdens of revenue shortfall on the spines of state worker-bees while lining the wallets of your trusted assistants floats the aroma of farm-based methane throughout the Republican Party..no comment from Haden and the GOP seems an appropriate response from those whose hands have been caught inside the Sunflower State's Cookie Jar..Kudos to that radical left-wing LJ World scrap of liberal bias!!!
5 May 2009
at 11:13 a.m.

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maxcrabb (Anonymous) says…

I better run for office, get these bonuses, and examine them… you know, in order to uh… stop corruption?
5 May 2009
at 11:15 a.m.

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ronwell_dobbs (Anonymous) says…

Nice work, LJW.

'Bout time seeing the Fourth Estate finally returning to its primary job in this country.
5 May 2009
at 11:16 a.m.

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walkdog262 (Anonymous) says…

Uh oh, Dolph's not going to like this story at all.
5 May 2009
at 11:20 a.m.

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staff04 (Anonymous) says…

OK, I'll be the first:

No comparison of how the pay of these Republican staff relate to pay of Democratic staff? (I recognize that there may not be many!)
5 May 2009
at 11:24 a.m.

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timetospeakup (Anonymous) says…

@maxcrabb - these people getting extra money aren't elected officials, they are their staffers. So you need to get a friend to run for office and hire you.
5 May 2009
at 11:35 a.m.

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MeAndFannieLou (Anonymous) says…

Staff - I think the article is about those lawmakers who proposed and supported a pay cut for other state employees.

5 May 2009
at 11:45 a.m.

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scott3460 (Anonymous) says…

If this is that repuglican rebranding we've been hearing about, I don't think it's gonna work.

Hilarious how consistently the members of this party show their stripes.
5 May 2009
at 11:46 a.m.

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TomShewmon (Tom Shewmon) says…

Wonder of Rothschilds would report bonuses to Dems? You superstars know I know the answer to that, so you don't need bother.

Anyway, whatever. Republicans work hard for the state of Kansas, up against a bunch of whiney obstructionist Democrats. They deserve it.
5 May 2009
at 11:51 a.m.

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staff04 (Anonymous) says…

Tom, that's rich, you complaining about obstructionists…man you crack me up sometimes!
5 May 2009
at 11:55 a.m.

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Phillbert (Anonymous) says…

The fun part is that the House Republican leadership office has a revolving door with front groups like the Kansas Chamber and Americans for Prosperity.

Many of these people get big government bonuses and salaries and then go work for these groups where they lobby against big government spending.
5 May 2009
at 12:06 p.m.

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monheim (Anonymous) says…

Eh, I've always said, tax and spend is always better than just spend and spend. I have a hard time believing it's hard for this Hayden guy to live on 90 grand a year. Seriously, I don't wanna make this any more partisan than it needs to be, because it's not the issue. The issue is there are people telling us we need to tighten our belts to keep from having to raise taxes (zomg socialism!!), yet are okay with taking some pretty damn big bonuses? That's something they need to be called out on, partisanship aside.
5 May 2009
at 12:07 p.m.

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TomShewmon (Tom Shewmon) says…

I'm glad my posts get the intended results, staff. Even after your vicious attacks on me, I still maintain a sense of humor!

But on a serious note, assuming you're referring to the US congress, heck, Repubs don't get the chance to obstruct…..so much for transparency, huh?

When I think of Dems in control of things(shuttering in horror) I think of Charlie Rich crooning in the '70's, “Oh, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors”
5 May 2009
at 12:08 p.m.

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katjok (Anonymous) says…

It's not about what they deserve. It's about being hypocrits!
5 May 2009
at 12:22 p.m.

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tir (Anonymous) says…

Why should anyone be surprised? After all, this is the same Mike O'Neal who is currently being investigated for nepotism. He and his Republican colleagues *ought* to be ashamed for proposing to plunder the paychecks of the rank and file state workers in the name of fiscal responsibility, and all the while handing out fat bonuses to their favored assistants and preserving nice tax breaks for their pals in business. But I very much doubt that they have enough common decency to even feel ashamed. H3ll, no, that's how the real fat cats roll!

5 May 2009
at 12:27 p.m.

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anon72 (Anonymous) says…

Tom: Go ahead and check on any bonuses awarded to staffers in the House Dems' office- I'd bet that they have nothing to hide. Brent's bonus likely equates to about 6-month's salary for them. Even without the $20K bonus, his salary is probably twice that of his Democratic counterpart (and we won't even compare his salary to the bulk of state employees who would suffer most from across the board salary reductions).

It is disgusting that the same legislator advocating for state employee pay cuts is awarding bonuses to his staff that equal what some state employees make in a year.
5 May 2009
at 12:36 p.m.

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LiberalDude (Anonymous) says…

Disgusting. Kansas Republicans are a bunch of ultra-conservative hypocrites.
5 May 2009
at 12:39 p.m.

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tir (Anonymous) says…

anon72 said:
“It is disgusting that the same legislator advocating for state employee pay cuts is awarding bonuses to his staff that equal what some state employees make in a year.”

Amen! Many of those low-paid state workers are now worried sick about how they are going to survive a 5% pay cut ,or even worse, massive layoffs resulting from these legislators' demands that agencies cut personnel costs by 26%.
5 May 2009
at 12:55 p.m.

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Summerguuurl007 (Anonymous) says…

Oy veh. Good job geniuses. Do politicians really think that no one cares about this kind of crap?
5 May 2009
at 1:09 p.m.

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KansasVoter (Anonymous) says…

Republicans are hypocrites. This story is just more proof of that fact.
5 May 2009
at 1:28 p.m.

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BigDog (Anonymous) says…

It is disgusting that the same legislator advocating for state employee pay cuts is awarding bonuses to his staff that equal what some state employees make in a year.
–––––––––-
It is also ironic that state employees “who are overworked” have time to comment on websites regarding newspaper articles.
5 May 2009
at 1:37 p.m.

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anon72 (Anonymous) says…

Well, BigDog, whether or not I'm a state employee, this is the second time I've ever posted anything on this website….whereas you have posted about 860 times.

So what's your point again?
5 May 2009
at 1:39 p.m.

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BigDog (Anonymous) says…

anon72

My point is I am not a state employee whose at work posting on websites .. then claiming you are all so overworked.

5 May 2009
at 1:43 p.m.

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anon72 (Anonymous) says…

I didn't say state employees were overworked. I said that the bulk of state employees like corrections officers, social service workers, etc etc…(but obviously not GOP House staffers)…are undercompensated for the work that they do.
5 May 2009
at 1:53 p.m.

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lounger (Anonymous) says…

Ahh they are all terrible. No salary until they clean up the Kansas river and start talking seriously about better, newer energy-not this old, polluting, dirty coal plant business!!!!!!!
5 May 2009
at 2:02 p.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

BigDog's party got busted with their pants down… and all he has is another red herring.

But then, I've watched BigDog and his red herrings for years, on two or three different message boards. No big surprise, this.

That being said… I agree with staff04 and others, in that we need to see this kind of financial transparency for **all** legislators and their staffs, regardless of party affiliation.

Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
5 May 2009
at 2:05 p.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

BigDog (Anonymous) says…

anon72

“My point is I am not a state employee whose at work posting on websites .. then claiming you are all so overworked.”
_____________________________________________________

Or, at least, “so you say”…

Nobody can prove this one way or another, can they?

—Ag
5 May 2009
at 2:10 p.m.

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Akreed (Anonymous) says…

How does a “pay rate adjustment” automatically equal a “special bonus”?

I see nothing in this article that even mentions the possiblity that they were just screwing these people paychecks up over the course of the year and correcting the errors. That scenario is not nearly as sensational sounding but certainly not outside the realm of possibility.
5 May 2009
at 2:24 p.m.

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staff04 (Anonymous) says…

“not nearly as sensational”

I'd also say not nearly as likely…but that's just my opinion. When I was in government I generally received a small holiday bonus…with the understanding that it wasn't guaranteed and was contingent on how well we as a staff managed our budget. I don't have a problem with it, just call it what it is. The silence from those under the microscope is deafening.
5 May 2009
at 2:29 p.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

staff04: “small holiday bonus?”

Was that equivalent to 22%, maybe 23% of your annual salary?

That's what Haden got.

I'll bet he already has his “golden parachute” locked up for when O'Neal gets tossed out on his can in the next election.

Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
5 May 2009
at 2:36 p.m.

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Akreed (Anonymous) says…

In this day and age the word bonus brings people's blood to a boil and you can rest assured this “reporter” knows that.

The intentional lack of any other possibility for these payments being mentioned in the story amounts to baiting the readers into being furious at these Republican employees. That is the only thing that we can “call what it is” from this story as it lacks any specifics on why these payments were made.

I do agree if they were bonus they should just say yeah they were, and what about it?

5 May 2009
at 2:52 p.m.

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rooster (Anonymous) says…

Akreed is the defender of the conservative taliban. You are right though there could possibly be some other reason they got these bonuses.

It was the magic bonus fairy who held the legislators at gun point demanding they give huge bonuses to their staffers.

Go get that magic bonus fairy akreed.

And so your name shall always be remembered as:

Akreed, Defender of the not completely impossible alternative theory's.
5 May 2009
at 2:59 p.m.

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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…

Great reporting, Rothschild. The more we know about the ins and outs of our government, the better.

Maybe this sort of reporting will get the GOP budget cutters down off of their populist high-horse when talking about cutting the pay of “bloated” state worker salaries. certainly it exposes their hypocrisy when they use the “bloated fat cat KU employee” argument.
5 May 2009
at 3:01 p.m.

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Akreed (Anonymous) says…

Whatever you say rooster. Be sure to pull the blinders tight against your head to prevent seeing anything outside of the mandated viewpoint. I guess you live in a world where mistakes are never made by payroll.
5 May 2009
at 3:12 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.”

Sounds like there are too many state employees on these message boards with too much time on their hands.

The real amusing part is that people are coming right out and saying 'We don't care if the Democrats are doing it too - the Republicans shouldn't be doing it!'
5 May 2009
at 3:12 p.m.

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RedwoodCoast (Anonymous) says…

But Republicans are the only people on the government payroll doing the “real” work, so why shouldn't they get large chunks of taxpayers' money. For a party that seems to think that every problem can be solved with a tax cut, one would think that these folks would be all for taxes. After all, taxes=more available money for them. I see the clothes, but I don't see the emperor.
5 May 2009
at 3:13 p.m.

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rooster (Anonymous) says…

Oh, so now its a payroll mistake. hmmm. Interesting.

Funny but we aren't hearing about the mistakes that the democratic legislators are making in payroll.

For a group of people who claim to be fiscal conservatives they seem to have no idea about how money works. How to count it(see george w bush's last 8 budgets), or how to spend it(see haliburton) or how to pay it out(read the article above).

You must be dumber than you sound in your posts.
5 May 2009
at 3:26 p.m.

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rooster (Anonymous) says…

Above post is directed to akreed.
5 May 2009
at 3:31 p.m.

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jcc (Anonymous) says…

Surprise, surprise! Republicans talk out of both sides of their mouths.

5 May 2009
at 3:32 p.m.

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Summerguuurl007 (Anonymous) says…

KansasVoter: “Republicans are hypocrites. This story is just more proof of that fact.”
Not that I disagree with you, but what did you think of all the Democrats who weren't paying their taxes after voting increases over and over again? That's pretty hypocritical as well…
Anyone want to help me bring back the anti-Federalist party?
5 May 2009
at 3:32 p.m.

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Akreed (Anonymous) says…

Do you have problems with reading with comprehenshion rooster? Did you even bother to read what my point was…let me quote it for you in case you are too dumb to go back and review.

“I see nothing in this article that even mentions the possiblity that they were just screwing these people paychecks up over the course of the year and correcting the errors.”

See where I am simply stating there are other explainations which aren't even explored or offered as an alternative? To spell it out for you correcting year long payroll screwups. I apoligize for assuming that you actually had a clue what I was saying before you started railing on me and calling me names.

Try to have an informed point of view next time will you?

On a side note I find it interesting as well the “reporter” did not bother to query the same information of the high ranking democrats. Now why do you suppose that is?
5 May 2009
at 3:42 p.m.

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midge (Anonymous) says…

I'm not surprised the GOP wouldn't make any comments. They have to wait until someone else writes it down for them to read.
5 May 2009
at 3:50 p.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

A couple of points.

First, the $20,000 “adjustment” to the chief of staff came on his first ever paycheck to the state. I think it is logical to conclude these weren't adjustments but rather were entered that way in the state's payroll system in order to avoid detection.

Second, this request wasn't directed at Republicans, it was directed at leadership staff for the House of Representatives. Currently, Republicans control those offices. If there were a Democratic Speaker and a Democratic Majority Leader, then the request would have been targeted at Democrats.
5 May 2009
at 4:05 p.m.

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rooster (Anonymous) says…

Akreed I understood how you were trying to deflect blame for improprieties by the republican leadership to anything else that could have happened.

Likewise there is nothing in the article to infer that this was just some sort of clerical mistake like the kind you claim this to be. Why on earth would someone write an article on a clerical mistake. The purpose of this article is to point out that republican leadership is paying huge bonuses.

I was just trying to point out how quick you are to dismiss the likelyhood this was a bad move on the part of the republican leadership.

For the sake of proving me wrong just copy and paste the link to this article so when this “payroll error” is proven to be true you can tout how right you were.

I won't hold my breath.
5 May 2009
at 4:05 p.m.

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gphawk89 (Anonymous) says…

OK, I fully expect LJW, wanting to appear fair and unbiased, to run another article soon titled “Some Kansas Democrat employees getting special pay bonuses”. Or not…
5 May 2009
at 4:07 p.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

Something else to consider - The $20,000 payment to the Speaker's Chief of Staff is more than almost all of the 165 members of the Kansas Legislature will earn for their service this year.
5 May 2009
at 4:09 p.m.

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BigDog (Anonymous) says…

Even though they are not the majority party …. Minority Leader Paul Davis is considered leadership of House … and has full-time staff.

All leadership staff should be looked at in this case regardless of party.

Also if you look at the salary list from the website listed below …. the first 25 pages of highest paid employees in the state come from universities. You have university people making 3-5 times what the governor of the state receives in compensation.

http://www.kansas.com/salaries/kansas/

5 May 2009
at 4:20 p.m.

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dandelion (Anonymous) says…

When my sister, a teacher in Shawnee Mission sent an email to her legislator protesting cuts for schools, she got back a rather snippy letter saying that everyone has to share in the cuts, including education, so too bad, so sad. Apparently, everyone does not include aides and businesses. Only the lowlies have to take cuts. What a bunch of hypocrites. Of course, the people are stupid enough to keep electing this ripoff artists. Anyone from Hutch out there? Are you going to come up with a better rep next election?
5 May 2009
at 4:27 p.m.

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Akreed (Anonymous) says…

Calling these “special bonuses” based on assumptions is poor reporting. There is no evidence these payments were any such thing. They may indeed have been bonuses but you'd never know it from the lack of facts in this article. The story is biased and written to bait the conservative haters. Which it would seem it has done.

The lack of a few posters on here to even admit the possibility that these payments could be anything but bonuses speaks volumes.
5 May 2009
at 4:28 p.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

House Appropriations chairman Kevin Yoder has three people on his staff.

Three people, and they are really just to help out one guy. Wonder how much they are sharing…
5 May 2009
at 4:38 p.m.

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yankeevet (Anonymous) says…

We elect politicians too represent us; and they just steal from us; and care only about the money; and not the people………democrats and republicans are all alike……what a system……….
5 May 2009
at 4:40 p.m.

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Shardwurm (Anonymous) says…

Yeah…this kind of stuff never happens with Democrats.
5 May 2009
at 4:50 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

“Something else to consider - The $20,000 payment to the Speaker's Chief of Staff is more than almost all of the 165 members of the Kansas Legislature will earn for their service this year.”

But probably not more than *your* state paycheck, right, Bob?

Now, I know there are some of you that think the chief of staff to the House Speaker shouldn't get paid more than the guy holding the “Slow/Stop” sign in a construction zone. But these guys get paid more because that's what it takes to keep them in public service instead of the private sector - as opposed to all those poor, overworked state employees who couldn't *get* a job in the private sector.

But please, keep up the whining. (As if anything were likely to change that.)
5 May 2009
at 4:59 p.m.

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rooster (Anonymous) says…

notajayhawk says: But these guys get paid more because that's what it takes to keep them in public service instead of the private sector - as opposed to all those poor, overworked state employees who couldn't *get* a job in the private sector.

Are you kidding, We elect a legislator to do the work we need done. If they can't do it on their own then maybe they are not qualified to do the job. Furthermore some of the leaders may need an extra hand but that is usually called a secretary not some 90k per year circle jerker. Since we are in a huge deficit financially in kansas where is all the brainpower from these brilliant minds going? I say send them to the private sector, they are not helping us one bit aparently.
5 May 2009
at 5:12 p.m.

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Katara (Anonymous) says…

Akreed (Anonymous) says…

How does a “pay rate adjustment” automatically equal a “special bonus”?

I see nothing in this article that even mentions the possiblity that they were just screwing these people paychecks up over the course of the year and correcting the errors. That scenario is not nearly as sensational sounding but certainly not outside the realm of possibility.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If it was a paycheck error, I would imagine that the responsible for correcting it and giving out the “pay adjustment” would have simply just said so rather than going the “no comment” route.

Paycheck errors happen. People know this. Why hide it …unless the “pay adjustment” is not related to a payroll error.

5 May 2009
at 5:19 p.m.

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trinity (Anonymous) says…

i got your outrage right here; i'm a state employee posting from the comfort of my den at home…and yeah occasionally i post from work, over my lunch time or break! so take that&do whatever with it…

i am aghast…agog…apoplectic….outraged…furious! over this. i had no earthly idea those figureheads at the state level were getting these lovely bonuses on the taxpayer backs-while we line staff are promised a 15% pay raise a couple years ago, only to have 'em say well we can't give it to you all at once, (last summer) here take a 5% crumb, hopefully we can give you more next year. now next year is here and we'll be lucky if we see a cola! and these moonbats are getting tidy little sums, for what? and i can point to some higher up state employees that do precious little in a 40 hour work week, yet they are bringing in 120+ per year! work maybe, *maybe* a few hours per day, then the rest of the time is frittered. and us peons are bustin' our backs on details that actually do the higher ups jobs for them. wow.
it is truly a good thing that i love my job, the type of work i do, etc; else i'd be out that door so fast. this is an outrage for all of us who do love what we do, yet have to endure year after year this blather about cutting pay, furlough, layoff, etc. the entire legislature needs a good sound smackin' about the head to wake 'em up! but i seriously doubt that would even do the trick.
i am reeeaaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyyyyy upset over this. and if anybody tells me to calm down, i'll likely blow a gasket or something!
5 May 2009
at 5:22 p.m.

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anon72 (Anonymous) says…

BigDog:

Although most legislative offices have, in the past, been able to award modest end-of-year bonuses, $20K is obscene by any state employee standards. Even without the bonus, Brent makes more than (or at least as much as) Cabinet members and most statewide office holders, who oversee entire agencies. It's ridiculous.

This is not the point of the story, but just to give you a frame of reference, the House Minority Leader's staff of three (plus a full-time office assistant) serve 49 members and work for significantly less (in Brent's case it's around $40-50K less) than most of the 7 GOP House staffers (plus a full-time office assistant), who serve 76 members. Republicans do have more legislators to serve, but the budgets of the two offices are nowhere close to proportional.

You're probably not seeing much reporting on the House D salaries because there is probably nothing really significant to report. Just a guess. Although I do agree- it probably would've been good to throw House D staff salaries in, if for no other reason than to demonstrate just how obscene those House GOP salaries are.

Also, anyone look up what Cindy O'Neal is making for 3 months worth of work? Just curious.

The REAL point of the story though is that the House Speaker has been advocating for cuts, cuts, and more cuts to those at the bottom, while refusing to consider tax freezes for large corporations (not even increases…just freezes) and in the same breath spending big bucks on bonuses and salaries for his own staff (ahem, family). All while thousands of state employees across the state face salary reductions, layoffs, and furloughs.

Oh, and why aren't the Kansas Chamber or AFP demanding answers to the Speaker's spending spree?
5 May 2009
at 5:32 p.m.

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edjayhawk (Anonymous) says…

Well, well, well. The chickens have come back to roost. Its funny how the right-wingers didn't post on this. I don't want to hear one more thing about how bad K.S. was as Governor.
5 May 2009
at 6 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

rooster (Anonymous) says…

“Are you kidding, We elect a legislator to do the work we need done. If they can't do it on their own then maybe they are not qualified to do the job.”

Uh huh.

I'm sure you can do your own job without assistance, rooster. The greeter at Wal-mart probably doesn't need a chief of staff, either. But believe it or not, there are jobs that actually are more involved than yours. We pay college professors to teach and publish, but they have graduate TA's and research assistants. The chief operating officer of whoever employs you most likely doesn't answer his own phones or respond to his own correspondence. And maybe replying to e-mails, researching court decisions, and typing up 500-page pieces of legislation is what *you* elected your legislator to do, but the rest of us had a few other things in mind - things he might not have a lot of time to accomplish if he's answering his own phones.
5 May 2009
at 6:12 p.m.

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Mixolydian (Anonymous) says…

No doubt, these staffers are overpaid, but I would guess so are the democrat leadership staffers.

I don't like or agree with the state employee pay cut proposal, but I am rational and even handed enough to know that it should be on the table, along with every other state expenditure, when it comes to looking at what to cut in a down economy.

Sure you can raise taxes on businesses in a down economy, but they'll then be forced to make the tough decisions on payroll and employee retention. Public sector job loss vs. temporary government sector pay decrease. It's a legitimate point of discussion.
5 May 2009
at 6:23 p.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

Notajayhawk - do we pay those TA's bonuses that are more than the annual pay for the professor plus a salary that is 400% of the professor?
5 May 2009
at 6:26 p.m.

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rooster (Anonymous) says…

Wow nota, way to omit the important part of the paragraph. I clearly stated some may need assistance like a “secretary”.

You solidified my statement with the example you posed. When was the last time a TA or a research assistant made 90K+ per year without “bonuses” .

According to your belief, an assistant to a legislator should make 5x more money than the other legislators?

You are warped.
5 May 2009
at 6:26 p.m.

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jaywalker (Anonymous) says…

Are these numbers way out of whack? Salaries of 90k, 70k, 48k……..deserve this much venom? If there's some sort of malfeasance there, ok. Sure doesn't sound like it though.

5 May 2009
at 7:38 p.m.

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rrussell (Rex Russell) says…

Just out of curiosity, did all of these legislators vote themselves a pay increase in the last few years? Did they include themselves in the 5% pay cut to State employees they were considering?
Just curious.

j
5 May 2009
at 8:47 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

“do we pay those TA's bonuses that are more than the annual pay for the professor plus a salary that is 400% of the professor?”

Gee, Bob, does a graduate TA have the responsibilities and complexity in his job that the chief of staff of the House Speaker has? And exactly what is the going rate - in the private sector - of a teaching assistant?

In any event, you seem rather obsessed with the ratio, not the actual amount. That's easily corrected - pay the legislators more. I guess if college professors were paid $5000/year, their research assistants' salaries would look too high, too.

**********************************

rooster (Anonymous) says…

“You solidified my statement with the example you posed. When was the last time a TA or a research assistant made 90K+ per year without “bonuses” .”

I solidified what statement, rooster - your contention “We elect a legislator to do the work we need done. If they can't do it on their own then maybe they are not qualified to do the job.” That statement?

Perhaps if you had the faintest idea of what being chief of staff to the head of one of the legislative houses entails, you might understand it's slightly more involved than being a “secretary.” By all means, if you think it's that simple, send Mike O’Neal your resume.

Let us know how that works out for ya'.

By the way - did you know that both Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's chiefs of staff, and Pelosi's hand-picked 'Chief Administrative Officer' of the House all make virtually the same salary as the rank-and-file U.S. Congressmen? I guess secretarial work pays pretty good, rooster.
5 May 2009
at 10:03 p.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

Really, notajayhawk? Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid's chiefs of staff make just as much as rank and file US Congressmen?

I figured they made 5 times as much, plus were given $180,000 bonuses.

But then, I didn't read the story. I just read your brilliant analysis. It is kind of like watching Fox News instead of reading the paper.

It is interesting you know so much about the duties and massive responsibilities of the Kansas Speaker's chief of staff. Hmmmm…..
5 May 2009
at 11:21 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

Just as your insights into the poor, overworked, underpaid, downtrodden state employees are so enlightening, Captain Kangaroo. I notice you never answered whether your own state salary is eclipsed by the chief of staff's.

As for where my information comes from, Bobbie, there's this new thing, maybe you've heard of it - it's called the 'internet.' You can find public employee salaries, job desciptions, all kinds of useful tidbits. Enought to find out that staff members making more than the elected officials is hardly unusual - in Missouri, for example, the House Speaker's COS makes about $75K, while legislators make $31K. Even some secretaries (sorry - 'legislator assistants') make more than the legislators themselves.

As someone who professes to be an advocate for education, perhaps you might start with yourself?

“I figured they made 5 times as much”

Still obsessed with the ratio thing, eh, Captain? Just can't seem to get past that, can you.

See, Bobbie, there's two parts to a ratio - a numerator and a denominator. You seem to have a big problem with 'improper fractions,' where the numerator is larger than the denominator (sorry, Bob - the number on the top is bigger than the number on the bottom). If the ratio is too high, but the numerator is appropriate (and $110,000 total does not seem overly outrageous for the position - in the very unlikely event you're ever being considered for a job in the private sector, you might learn this), maybe the problem is the denominator is too low?

“It is kind of like watching Fox News instead of reading the paper.”

Whereas yours is like reading the whiny, entitled, class-jealous drivel of a self-important bureaucrat who thinks everyone else makes too much. Oh, wait - that's what it is.
6 May 2009
at 6:54 a.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

So you're saying even in a backwards state like Missouri they know better than to pay legislative staff ridiculous salaries with outrageous bonuses?

I concur. It is a black day when the Missouri Speaker is demonstated to be more capable and accountable than Kansas Speaker O'neal.

Mike O'Neal has made Missouri look superior to Kansas. This is even worse than previously imagined. Thanks for the info!
6 May 2009
at 7:02 a.m.

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Slowponder (Anonymous) says…

Why are these bonuses so small? These elected folks need to study at the prison shoes of Bernie Madoff, who to really rip off the big bucks.
6 May 2009
at 8:43 a.m.

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gphawk89 (Anonymous) says…

Seriously… I challenge LJW and Mr. Rothschild to do another article titled “Some Kansas Democrat employees getting special pay bonuses”. Same level of investigation. It would only be fair.
6 May 2009
at 9:17 a.m.

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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…

I would like to see that story too, gphawk. And the biggest reason is because it would likely show one or two bonuses to Democratic staffers over a similar time period and then immediately be touted as “equal” to the excesses in the House leadership office.

This story isn't about Republicans, it is about the House leadership offices and the excesses of its current salary structure.

6 May 2009
at 10:30 a.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

gphawk89 (Anonymous) says…

“Seriously… I challenge LJW and Mr. Rothschild to do another article titled 'Some Kansas Democrat employees getting special pay bonuses.' Same level of investigation. It would only be fair.”
_____________________________________________________

How do you know such an investigation wasn't already conducted?

Suppose it has… and nothing was found?

Are you prepared to accept, and live with that possibility?

Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
6 May 2009
at 11:27 a.m.

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BigAl (Anonymous) says…

Typical right wing response. Deny, deflect and justify.

1. Not us, we wouldn't do that
2. Blame the democrats
3. It's ok. Other people probably do this.
7 May 2009
at 8:09 a.m.

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Made_in_China (Paul R. Getto) says…

Much ado about little money. I agree it looks bad, but the real issue––—raise taxes to pay for what we Kansans want in services. QED, once the ideologues get through with their ranting.