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Salary cut mulled for ranking govt officials
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Posted on Apr 18 2008
Legislation has been proposed to create a commission that will study a 10-percent pay cut for all elected government officials.
The proposed salary reduction will affect the governor, lieutenant governor, senators, representatives, judges, justices, and mayors, whose salaries are all constitutionally protected.
Under the CNMI Constitution, an advisory commission must be established before the salary of any elected official is changed.
House Bill 16-84, sponsored by Rep. Ralph Anthony Torres, would create that advisory commission. The panel will consist of two members from the House of Representatives, one from the Senate, one from the Executive Branch, and one from the Judiciary.
The specific purpose of the commission is to study and recommend a pay cut within 30 days upon being organized. A grace period of 15 days is provided. If the commission fails to submit a recommendation 45 days after being formed, it will be deemed to have approved a 10-percent pay cut.
The commission is not allowed to consider a salary increase.
A 10-percent salary cut against all elected officials will save the government about $213,560 a year.
The bill sets a schedule for how the savings from the pay cut should be allocated.
Forty percent will go to the Commonwealth Health Center for needs related to infrastructure and purchase of medical equipment and supplies. Forty percent will go to the Public School System for academic purposes. The remaining 20 percent will be used to help Northern Marianas College in addressing its accreditation problems.
The chief justice of the Supreme Court is the highest paid government official, making $130,000 a year. Each full-time associate justice of the Supreme Court makes $126,000 a year.
Meanwhile, the presiding judge of the Superior Court makes $130,000 a year. The salary of each associate judge of the Superior Court is $126,000 a year.
The governor is paid $70,000 a year, and the lieutenant governor $60,000. The 20 representatives and nine senators each make $39,000 a year.
Each of the three mayors earns a salary of $43,200 a year.
