Pay raises for elected officials under consideration
A committee selected to consider pay raises for Missouri's elected officials will proceed with a series of public hearings, including one this evening in St. Louis, regardless of the fact they have less than half the required amount of members.
The Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials which already met in Springfield last week, will meet in St. Louis tonight at the Gallery Level of the Old Post Office, located at 815 Olive St. The hearing will allow comments from the public. If you want to weigh in on the issue, and can't make it down to the Lou in the next 20 minutes, you can e-mail comments to Chairman Tim Hufker up until noon tomorrow at thufker@centrics.com.
By order of the State Constitution, the commission is to be formed every two years to consider changes in compensation. The governor appoints 12 members to the board, the Secretary of State picks nine and the Missouri Supreme Court chooses one.
However, Gov. Matt Blunt has not appointed anyone to the board as of yet, and, according to a report by the Associated Press, does not plan to. Any recommendation the board makes for changes in compensation must be approved by the state legislature with a two-thirds vote in both houses.