Dec. 28, 2006 — Provisions included in a bill passed Thursday during a special Senate session lay out new pay raises for the governor, lieutenant governor and senators. Once the bill is signed into law, the annual salary of the territory's governor will nearly double to $150,000 (up from $80,000 a year), while the lieutenant governor will be making $125,000 a year (up from $75,000).
According to the bill, Turnbull, along with Lt. Gov. Vargrave Richards, will be receiving a portion of the increase, as the raises will be made retroactive to Oct. 1, 2006.
Incoming senators will now be put on the same level as the "lowest" paid commissioners, earning $85,000 a year, while the Senate president will be making $95,000 annually. Currently, senators earn $65,000 a year, while the Senate president earns $75,000 annually.
"It's hypocrisy, really," Sen. Celestino A. White Sr. said. "The governor sent down, more than 11 months ago, legislation to increase his salary. But because of your cowardice, you all decided to wait until after the election to pass it. You decided to hold onto the governor's submission because you were afraid that your future had not yet been determined."
Senate President Lorraine L. Berry echoed White's remarks, saying that "all senators" have, at one point in time, expressed an interest in receiving a pay raise.
"You can't have your cake and eat it too," she said. "Every senator wants a raise, but no one wants to be blamed, no one wants a 'yes' next to their name. Well, whatever senator doesn't want a raise, I'm saying to them respectfully, come Jan. 1, let the Commissioner of Finance know and they can give your money to the poor."
Berry added that senators, the governor and lieutenant governor have not received pay raises in 15 years.
While some senators said they did not consider granting increases to the governor and lieutenant governor a "matter of urgency," others, such as Sen. Ronald E. Russell, openly supported the increases.
"When we as an institution give raises across the board, to the teachers, to the unions and to the retirees, everyone's happy. But it isn't fair for the governor and senators to get a raise. So, everyone else can get a raise, but we can't. So, the question now is, how do we look at fairness?" he asked.
While White suggested that the two issues be voted on separately, senators, at the end of the meeting, decided to approve the entire bill. Voting in favor of the measure was Berry, along with Sens. Roosevelt C. David, Pedro "Pete" Encarnacion, Juan Figueroa-Serville, Louis P. Hill, Norman Jn Baptiste and Russell.
Sens. Liston Davis, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Shawn Michael-Malone, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Usie R. Richards and White voted against the bill, while Sens. Craig W. Barshinger and Neville James were absent.
The bill, which includes numerous other government reforms, was submitted to the Legislature late Wednesday afternoon by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, along with a letter calling the Senate into special session (See "Some Senators 'In the Dark' About Thursday's Special Senate Session").
Funding to support a pay increase for government employees was also included in the bill. The increase, which was signed into law last year, will become effective on Jan. 1, and will raise the minimum salary for government employees from $15,000 to $20,000.
According Karen Andrews, chief negotiator for the Office of Collective Bargaining, the $2.85 million appropriation will be enough to cover the increased salaries of approximately 1,300 government employees for three-quarters of a year.
While all senators said they were in favor of providing the funding to cover the $5,000 increase for government employees, many also said they did "not understand" why the appropriation was "lumped in" with pay increases for the governor and lieutenant governor.
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