Editorial: Salary cut proposals for key state officials makes sense

Editorial: Salary cut proposals for key state officials makes sense



Publication Date: 04/11/08

In an election year elected officials are reluctant to raise taxes. They never want to go back to the home district with a tax increase. Rather they want as much of a tax cut as possible.

This week, the two chambers of the Florida Legislature came up with an innovative idea: cut their own salaries. The Senate also recommends salary cuts for Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.

In the Senate's $65.9 billion version of the 2009 budget, adopted on Wednesday, the salary cuts would amount to 10 percent for each official and save nearly $600,000. The House of Representatives' $65.1 billion version, approved on Thursday, proposes 2.5 percent cuts in the salaries of legislators only.

Gee, can these people we elect to sit in the big chairs afford it? We hope so.

We hope the Senate's proposed 10 percent cut is not a ploy to negotiate a minimal percentage in the conference committee by starting out with a cut four times higher than the House proposal. The Legislature has to adopt a state budget before the annual session ends May 2.

The Senate's plan proposes to take the $586,426 from the salary cuts and put it back into the state's early learning programs. That's especially commendable because these children are the ones that need early education intervention.

The Legislature has to reduce the current $70 billion state budget by $2 billion to $3 billion because state revenue forecasters predict lower tax revenues in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The rationale for the proposed salary cuts makes sense. Sen. Mike Fasano, R- New Port Richey, is the proposal's sponsor. In an Associated Press story in Thursday's Record, Fasano said, "If we're asking everyone else to have to cut their budget, we in the Legislature should do exactly the same." He's right.

We'd like to see more innovative thinking like Fasano's when the budget conference committee is convened.

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