JUDGES APPEAL TO PAY PANEL

Thirteen people -- mostly associate and circuit judges in the region -- attended a public hearing of the Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials at the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau Thursday night. Most who spoke said elected officials should be paid more.

The hearing was one of five being held around the state by the commission, which wants to get an idea of what Missouri citizens think about salaries. No citizens spoke at the hearing.

The 22-member commission makes a salary recommendation to the Missouri Legislature, which then considers budget needs and salary packages for all elected officials.

Outside the hearing, Lynne Jackson of Sikeston, Mo., said she doesn't think state employees and state representatives are being paid enough for the work they do. "It's just like teachers," she said, when asked on the parking lot of the Holiday Inn. "They don't get paid enough."

But John Bryant of Sikeston disagreed. He believes state officials aren't paid nearly enough for the job they are required to do. If statewide officials were running a private company, their salaries would be comparable, he said when asked outside the hearing.

"They would make that much or more," he said. "I think they are being underpaid."

Missouri's governor makes $112,755 annually. Under a proposal for 2001 set out by the commission, the governor would make $119,982 a year.

The commission has to make its recommendation so that the state gets good, qualified people to fill its positions, said John Ebeling, commission chairman.

"We want the people who will do the best job for the state," he said.

Commission members had little to say about a ballot measure that would revoke their recommending power and return it to the state Legislature. Amendment 3 would reverse the process set in place in 1994 when the commission was created.

The commission's duties are to stay within the guidelines of the constitution. Any changes would be up to the citizens. Amendment 3 would not have an impact on the commission's current task, Ebeling said.

The proposed amendment would let the Legislature deal with each office separately so that it could give raises to one office but not necessarily to another. As the process stands, the increase in pay must be given to all officeholders.

The pay suggestions of the commission take effect within one month of their recommendation unless otherwise rejected by the Legislature.

Chip Robertson, a former Missouri chief justice, agreed that the best person has to be found for every job. He suggested the commission put more weight on what ought to be done to create parity and perfection than on what can be done.

The absence of elected officials at the public hearing shouldn't be taken as satisfaction with the pay scales either, he said. Most elected officials know the political ramifications of coming before the commission to say that officeholders should be paid more, he said.

Yet three associate circuit judges from Southeast Missouri spoke before the commission to ask that more consideration be given to salary increases for their peers.

Associate circuit judges do much the same work as circuit judges in Missouri but are paid nearly $12,000 less, said Byron Luber, an associate circuit judge in Pemiscot County.

Luber asked the commission to establish some parity.

The Legislature has begun eliminating the distinction between the two levels of judges and asking that they both hear the same kinds of cases. "The only difference is the pay," said Gary Kamp, an associate circuit judge in Cape Girardeau County.

Another hearing is scheduled Oct. 26 in Springfield and Nov. 2 in Kansas City. The commission must file its recommendations to the state Legislature by Dec. 1.