Should state policy on director bonuses be tightened?
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Bonuses paid to two state directors raising their pay beyond state salary caps have caused several Iowa legislators to question whether Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has overstepped his authority.
Courtney Kay-Decker, director of the Iowa Department of Revenue, received an $800-per-pay-period housing allowance for her first year on the job, ending March 15, 2012, that totaled $20,800. The portion that fell in fiscal 2012 raised Kay-Decker’s compensation to $175,012. The maximum salary set by law for the revenue director is $154,300.
K. Brian London was hired as Public Safety commissioner in October at an annual salary of $128,890. “Since this salary is the top of the pay range for your position, we are approving a $16,110 recruitment bonus effective at the time of hire,” Branstad’s chief of staff Jeff Boeyink wrote London in an Oct. 8 letter The Gazette obtained through an open records request. “This will bring your total annual compensation to $145,000.”
Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, said Branstad shouldn’t be using bonuses to circumvent pay ranges established by the Legislature. “If the governor is having trouble recruiting talent, the case needs to be made to the public,” Danielson said. “It doesn’t need to be done by fiat.”
Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, agreed: “As a taxpayer in Iowa, this smells bad.”
What do you think of the bonuses? Should state policies be tightened to disallow these type of bonuses?
As usual people don’t realize that it isn’t the rank and file state workers who game IPERS, it’s the managers working for the State of Iowa. Branstad’s hallow plea of poverty and misdirected attack on unions should come as no surprise to the people who know him. The Gazette will poo poo this story because they won’t dare criticize incompetent politicians they endorse. Just look at what the city council and the mayor get away with without a peep from the Gazette.
“The Gazette will poo poo this story”? They’re the ones that first reported it.
Why should anyone making $150,000 need an $800 weekly housing allowance? This is a waste of tax dollars. We have other state employees working a 40 hour week and making less than $800 per week, no housing allowance, and the Governor wants to freeze their wages and make them pay more toward their health insurance. Brandstad is way out of line exceding wages limits for the top paid employees especially while claiming to want to save tax dollars. This is looking like another example of the rich getting richer by walking on the taxpaying working middle class.
It is the republican way. Take care of the high ups and mess over the ordinary workers. Branstrad double dips, gives his directors bonuses and then begrudge giving the common state workers what benefits that they have negoitiated over the years.
Governing by executive fiat. This is either acceptable or not. It should not be judged by what executive is doing it.
As far as the salary levels themselves. People that have skills needed to operate the departments. The pool of talent is small and it takes a certain level of compensation to hire these individuals.
Branstad, shame on him, should reimburse the taxpayers out of his own pocket.
In Illinois we remove our crooked politicians from office and send them to prison.
In Iowa you guys just keep reelecting them.