Font ResizeThirty-one House employees and 24 Senate staffers - two of whom work for a lawmaker whose territory includes York County - earn more than $100,000 per year, according to a review of state records by the Daily Record/Sunday News.
Meanwhile, many aides to rank-and-file lawmakers in York and Adams counties, and in the state, earn less than $40,000, and some earn less than $30,000, the review shows.
The six-figure salaries are more than most lawmakers make. Coupled with secret bonuses that went to many top aides last year, a few staffers even took home more than Gov. Ed Rendell's salary of $164,396. Rank-and-file legislators earn $73,613.
The top base salary in the House is $169,446; the highest-paid Senate employee earns $153,943.
Rep. Steven Nickol, R-Hanover, a former Senate aide, offered this droll observation: "If I would have stayed in the Senate as an aide, I'd probably be making over $100,000."
A leading activist said there should be sweeping changes to the system, including more accountability and performance milestones for those earning top salaries.
"I could live with six-figure salaries
Lawmakers have mixed opinions on the salary scale. Some are troubled by the high salaries and say their own aides deserve more, while others say the Legislature should have top staff with vast legal experience that merits high pay.
"There are some people who make a good amount of money working for the people of Pennsylvania, and if you want to attract good people you need to do that," Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, said.
In legislative offices, the pay gap may be causing some resentment among lower-paid staffers who are learning about the higher salaries.
"I think there certainly can be some tension when one person is making more than another. That happens everywhere," Rep. Bev Mackereth, R-Spring Grove, said.
The four legislative caucuses set their own staff salaries, and all say they base it on job responsibilities, experience and years of service.
House Democrats released a detailed classification of their pay scale showing the top range is $92,326 to $143,702 for the chief of staff to the floor leader, and the lowest range is $16,562 to $25,870 for a sergeant-at-arms.
With the new focus on salaries, at least one caucus claims it will look at changes to its pay system. House Republicans are planning a review of their pay scale that was set about a decade ago after an independent wage study, spokesman Steve Miskin said.
Local staff salaries
The highest-paid staffers supervised by an area lawmaker are David Atkinson, who earns $134,016 as a top aide on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Thomas Starke, who earns $101,206 as executive director on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Their supervisor is Sen. Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster, who represents much of eastern York County and was named appropriations chairman late last year.
Armstrong said his overall committee spending is low, and his top-paid staffers make less than those in similar positions in other caucuses. He also said he has the smallest appropriations staff among the four caucuses and is cutting back on other expenses such as meals and stenographers.
"I'm running a tight ship," Armstrong said.
As for changes in the staffing system, Armstrong said there should be more controls on how many staffers each caucus can hire.
In the House, local lawmakers have a Capitol aide and two or three full-time district aides.
Lawmakers with a ranking committee post also have committee staffers whose official supervisor is a caucus research director. These ranking lawmakers include Nickol, minority chairman of the House Finance Committee, and Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, minority chairman of the Local Government Committee.
Saylor has three full-time district aides and said they are needed to maintain two district offices - one in Red Lion and one in Fawn Grove. His staffers are kept busy with constituent requests, he said.
"Demand is there," he said.
Saylor said he's bothered by the disparity in pay between his aides - all of whom earn less than $40,000 - and top caucus staffers. He said the pay gap is unfair to his staff.
As House Republicans plan a review of the pay scale, Saylor said, they should research comparable salaries in the private sector and other legislatures.
Miller predicted the result of the salary review will be increases for lower-paid staff and higher overall costs. He compared the situation to talks over teacher contracts when unions seek raises similar to those in nearby districts.
One system for all?
Nickol said he would like to see a uniform salary system for all four caucuses.
As it stands now, he said, "You might have one caucus doing things right, and another doing things wrong, and the whole system gets tarnished."
Mackereth said there are even differences within the Republican caucus system. She said her district aides are paid based on a 40-hour week, while some are paid based on a 37.5-hour week, which might leave some with the impression that her staff is paid more per hour.
Even so, Mackereth said, six-figure salaries are the ones that deserve scrutiny, and she's glad the House GOP is planning to review the system.
Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester Township, is the only Democratic lawmaker from York County and the only local House member with a chief of staff listed on payroll records.
He said the designation is mostly a title for the staffer in charge in his absence, because Benjamin Timmins is paid similar to the senior district staffers in Republican offices. Timmins earns $35,000.
DePasquale is among those who say it's more important to enact changes to a previously undisclosed bonus system that was revealed earlier this year.
Legislative leaders awarded nearly $2.4 million last year in staff bonuses, some of which exceed $20,000, and Attorney General Tom Corbett has launched an investigation into whether any were tied to campaign work.
"I actually think the bonuses have much more potential for abuse," DePasquale said.
What local legislators think
Rep. Stan Saylor He says his three full-time district aides are kept busy with running his two district offices.
"Demand is there," he said.
He also believes the pay gap is unfair to his staff. Rep. Eugene DePasquale He says it's more important to change the previously undisclosed bonus system that was revealed earlier this year.
"I actually think the bonuses have much more potential for abuse," he said. Rep. Bev Mackereth She says the six-figure salaries deserve scrutiny and is backing the GOP review plan. She added that unseen differences - such as the fact that her staff is paid based on a 40-hour work week while other staffs work 37.5 hours weekly - can create false impressions of higher pay rates. Rep. Steven Nickol A former Senate aide, Nickol says he'd like to see a uniform salary system. As it stands now, if one caucus is setting salaries incorrectly, "the whole system gets tarnished," he says. Rep. Gibson Armstrong Armstrong, who has the two highest paid staffers among local lawmakers, says his top-paid people make less than those in similar positions. He says he's working to keep down other expenses.
"I'm running a tight ship," he says. Rep. Ron Miller Miller predicts the salary review will result in raises for lower-paid staffers, resulting in higher overall costs.
"There are some people who make a good amount of money working for the people of Pennsylvania, and if you want to attract good people you need to do that," he says.
