This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It would seem the Elected Official and Judicial Compensation Commission is proposing a pay raise for the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, auditor and treasurer.
The logic of the commission is that the governor is paid less than "almost every department head in the executive branch …and (less than) 20 mayors around the state".
Here's a novel thought: Maybe those who are making more than the Governor are simply being paid too much! Instead of jacking up the governor's (and cronies') pay, consider instead a pay cut for the overpaid. That should bring the governor's (et al) salaries more in line with the "others" and reflects the burden that the recession has had on the taxpayers of the state.
Ironically, the story just below this one was about a Refugee Holiday Winter Giveaway at the Lutheran Social Service of Salt Lake City: "Forty volunteers worked to serve more than 1,600 people, giving out donated food, clothing and toys."
Reality check, please.
Kathy Vigh
Cottonwood Heights