Hollister’s state assemblywoman awarded six of her nine
employees a total of $19,000 in raises earlier this year, but still
cut her budget by 20 percent.
Hollister’s state assemblywoman awarded six of her nine employees a total of $19,000 in raises earlier this year, but still cut her budget by 20 percent.
Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) awarded raises this past spring, she said. However, thanks to other cuts, including taking a voluntary pay cut herself, she lopped $45,000 off her $275,000 budget, she said.
“When I made the commitment (to the raises), it was significantly before we were in the economic situation we’re in now,” she said.
The raises, however, are offset by the resignation of a staff member who earned $31,000 annually, Caballero said. Four of the employees who received raises make less than $35,000, one makes about $40,000, and one makes $20,000 annually. The total amount of extra money Caballero doled out included a 5 percent raise for each of the six employees plus the cost of promoting one of those employees to legislative director and the cost of another employee who started working again at five days a week after law school temporarily cut his days back to four.
Many legislators have recently come under fire for giving raises at a time when state employees are forced to take furloughs. Caballero said she also agrees that furloughs are not the answer.
“Frankly, the governor is the executive in charge of furloughs,” she said. “He’s in charge of saying ‘Here’s a budget. Live within it.'”
Caballero said she would have preferred if the governor had reined in the budget by implementing deeper spending cuts, such as slashing another 10 percent from legislators’ budgets, rather than instituting furloughs.
“I would have been able to do that without impacting services,” she said. “I don’t agree with how he’s done it. It’s hurt employee morale. Some of the budget savings could have been done in other ways.”
Caballero took a voluntary pay cut, shaving $11,000 off her $116,000 salary. Her state-issued car is a Prius and she often hitches a ride to Sacramento with fellow Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel), she said.
“Is it inconvenient? Yes,” she said. “But it’s one of those things I feel good doing, commuting and helping save taxpayers’ money. I’ve been very frugal with state resources.”
