Gov. Doug Ducey, despite lean budget, awards hefty pay raises to his staff
Craig Harris
Gov. Doug Ducey, who this year offered teachers raises of less than 1 percent because of the state's austere budget, has given 44 of his staff members raises of up to 20 percent each over the past 2½ years, records obtained by The Arizona Republic show.
Those documents show Ducey has distributed raises to most of his staff since he was elected in 2015, with some getting multiple bumps in pay. The governor also promoted at least 40 employees, with their salaries increasing by amounts ranging from 5 to 100 percent. Just more than one-fourth of those receiving additional pay from promotions also received merit pay raises.
The average raise for a Ducey staffer was 11 percent since he took office.
The bulk of state employees have not had across-the-board pay hikes in recent years, though the average pay for state workers has increased 4.2 percent, to $45,981, since Ducey took office because of merit raises to select workers.
That increase mirrors inflation, as the consumer price index increased 4.2 percent in the metro-Phoenix area during the Ducey era. It increased 5.6 percent nationally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ducey, meanwhile, also has been generous to political appointees.
The largest pay hikes
Department of Child Safety Director Greg McKay's pay increased by 33 percent since Ducey took office, lifting his annual salary to $215,250. Registrar of Contractors Director Jeff Fleetham, a donor to Ducey's gubernatorial campaign and political action committee, received a nearly 13 percent hike, jumping his pay to $115,000. Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead was given a 12.6 percent raise, lifting his pay to $197,000. And Parks Director Sue Black, recruited by Ducey from Wisconsin, was given a 9.4 percent raise, bringing her pay to $175,000.
The Republican governor rewarded Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) Director Thomas Betlach, who makes $215,250 annually, with a $10,762 bonus last year.
One of the biggest payouts went to Kevin Donnellan, a long-time friend and business associate of Ducey's who was promoted in 2015 from assistant director to deputy director of the state Department of Administration, which oversees personnel issues.
That promotion resulted in a 41 percent raise, lifting Donnellan's annual pay to $161,200 in September 2015. He also was given $21,303 in stipends for the five months prior to his raise kicking in, for acting as interim ADOA director. Donnellan also was given bonuses of $4,836 during each of the past two years on top of his salary.
A modest increase for teachers
The governor this year proposed a 2 percent raise spread out over five years for teachers, but the Legislature approved a 2 percent increase over two years.
Arizona elementary-school teachers are the lowest paid in the country, while high-school teachers rank No. 48 in pay. And Arizona teachers have one of the largest average class sizes in the country, according to Arizona Education Association President Joe Thomas.
READ:Teachers across Arizona work multiple jobs to make ends meet
Thomas said he was stunned to learn of Ducey's staff raises.
"It is frustrating when you see people in other sectors of public work rewarded with gigantic raises," Thomas said. "We would end our teacher crisis if we saw a 10-12 percent raise. But we are told that the state can't afford it."
Daniel Scarpinato, the governor's spokesman, defended the pay hikes for Ducey's staff and appointees.
"You have seen individuals who have really proven themselves and done good work," said Scarpinato.
Scarpinato's own pay increased in two steps by 14 percent, or $20,000, to $162,000 annually.
Scarpinato also said it was Ducey, who is expected to run for re-election next year, who initially proposed pay raises for teachers.
"He’s the one who put the pay raise on the table because he heard from many teachers and parents that that needed to be an area of priority," Scarpinato said.
He added that money from voter-approved Proposition 123 also allocated additional funds for teachers. But Thomas said the Prop 123 spending already had been mandated by the courts, and the ballot measure was a vehicle to pay that obligation.
Governor is 'taking money away from teachers'
Steve Farley and David Garcia, Democrats running to unseat Ducey, called the governor hypocrital for claiming the state doesn't have funds to significantly increase pay for teachers while rewarding staff and appointees.
"To have an inner circle that gets that kind of raises is not right," said Farley, a state senator from Tucson. "To pay the ones at the top who are close to you and everyone else has to sacrifice is not a good way to govern."
Farley noted Arizona has about 1,300 vacant teaching positions because the pay is so low.
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Garcia, an Arizona State University professor, said teachers will be incensed to learn of the raises to Ducey's staff.
"The governor is taking money away from teachers and working families," Garcia said. "It's appalling."
What state records show
The Republic obtained raw data from the Department of Administration regarding raises and promotions given to Ducey's staff, as well as his appointees and other top government executives, since he took office. The information was requested under the Arizona Public Records Law.
The Republic created databases and obtained other state records that show:
- Raises for Ducey's staff ranged from 3 percent for Chief of Staff Kirk Adams, who makes $169,950, to 20 percent for scheduling director Cassandra Langenhorst, who makes $60,000.
- Double-digit percentage raises were given to 27 Ducey staffers who kept the same job. The majority of his staff received a raise, a promotion or both.
- The average raise given to 28 agency directors and deputy directors was 10.6 percent.
- Ducey gave Corrections Director Charles Ryan a 10 percent bump, raising his annual pay to $185,000. Meanwhile, the average pay for correctional officers has slightly declined in the last decade. It was $37,067 in 2008. Today, it's $37,028. However, Ryan this year provided merit raises of up to 3 percent for 4,816 correctional officers, and all 5,583 officers received a retention bonus in June.
- Bonuses of $2,000 or more were awarded 26 times to state executives, with six executives getting more than one bonus.
- The largest bonus, $15,248, was awarded June 22 to Kerry Campbell at the School Facilities Board, which is in charge of school construction. Campbell, deputy director of the agency, also was given a $4,250 bonus two weeks prior to the larger bonus, and she was given a $2,000 bonus in 2016. She makes $85,000 a year.
- AHCCCS Deputy Director Beth Kohler Lazare was given a 5.5 percent raise last year that increased her pay to $157,188. She also was given a $6,000 bonus in August, and a $5,600 bonus last year.
"The governor wants the best people who will do the best work for taxpayers. And when individuals have performed, he believes those people should be rewarded," said Scarpinato, the governor's spokesman.
Reach the reporter at craig.harris@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8478 or on Twitter @charrisazrep.
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