Idaho Mountain Express: Are our local officials overpaid?

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Are our local officials overpaid?

The governor of Idaho has a salary of $115,348; the Idaho attorney general, $103,984; the chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, $119,506; the Idaho superintendent of public education, $91,025; the superintendent of the Boise School District, serving 25,269 students, $155,000; and the superintendent of the Eugene, Ore., School District, serving 16,500 students, $144,965.

Blaine County Superintendent Lonnie Barber, serving 3,389 students, is paid $158,758 plus a very generous benefit package. The Sun Valley Marketing Association pays its president $155,000 plus benefits, funded primarily by Sun Valley and Ketchum taxpayers. The Blaine County commissioners voted themselves a salary raise last year to $61,520, despite the fact that an independent Blaine County Citizens Committee recommended that their prior salary of $55,434 was more than adequate.

It is time for citizens of Blaine County to wake up and understand how elected leaders of the cities of Sun Valley and Ketchum, the Blaine County school board and Blaine County commissioners are spending our tax dollars. There’s nothing wrong with an extraordinary compensation package, provided it is commensurate with responsibility and competitive with similar positions. Furthermore, those receiving extraordinary compensation must justify such salary levels by demonstrating that they have accomplished extraordinary results and service for our citizens.

Jim Bronson

Sun Valley
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