The Connecticut Compensation Commission for Elected State Officers and General Assembly Members recently took steps that could lead to a 10 percent increase in compensation for all statewide elected officers and members of the General Assembly.
“I think it’s time,” said Richard Balducci, the former speaker of the House, who sits on the commission.
Balducci said he views the state as a sort of company that operates with a $20 billion budget and has top executives that haven’t received raises in years.
"It isn't so much a value on do I think my state representative or my governor deserves a raise," Balducci said. "I think it's more in the perspective of the office we're talking about and the responsibilities that goes with it."
The state's top elected officials and members of the General Assembly have not received raises since 2001.
The governor earns $150,000, constitutional officers earn $110,000 and members of the General Assembly earn $28,000 for what’s considered a part-time job and are allotted more than $4,000 toward expenses.
State Sen. Rob Kane, a Republican from Watertown and ranking member on the Appropriations Committee called the idea of a raise, “ridiculous.”
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"The message I think is we are more concerned with the people that line our offices rather than the constituents we serve, and I think that's wrong,” Kane said.
He added that there’s an issue with the optics of a proposed raise when a budget shortfall has been projected in the current and subsequent fiscal years.
Any possible raise is far from becoming official. The General Assembly would have to approve an appropriations bill that included funds for raises.
