Snelling Center:
The Snelling Center for Government issued its report on compensation and benefits for governmental service.
Compensating Government Officials in Vermont: A Report to the Legislature
Fulfilling the Requirements of 32 VSA Section 316
January 15, 2004
In the spring of 2003, a series of discussions during the legislative session, on appropriate compensation for future legislatures, led to a request for a comprehensive study of compensation in the legislative, judicial and executive branch services to provide a baseline of data and related analysis for future action by the legislature. The Legislature designated The Snelling Center to undertake this study. The staff at The Snelling Center was assisted in these activities by the work of an Advisory Group that provided guidance for the study and its recommendations. This group included: Richard Mallary, Fred Allen, Tim O’Connor, J. Alvin Wakefield, William Schubart, Con Hogan, Ray Keyser, Jr. and Kathy Hoyt. Both William Russell and Steve Klein from Legislative Council and the Joint Fiscal Office were also invited to review materials and participate in meetings of the group.
As questions emerged during the study, the Center sent a questionnaire to all the members of the Vermont Legislature. The purpose of the inquiry was to help identify key legislative activities, both during and beyond the session, to frame the range and extent of current legislator responsibility, and to attempt to quantify the expenses related to legislative service. In providing data for comparisons between Vermont and other states, the services of the Staffs at the Office of Personnel, State Archives and Vermont Department of Libraries were also extremely helpful in identifying information for the study. Finally, The Snelling Center retained the services of Frank Sadowski of Gallagher, Flynn & Co., LLP to provide further expertise on compensation comparisons and analysis. The report presents a full range of comparative information that was made available through the offices and resources at the Council of State Governments (their publication, The Book of States, was especially helpful), the National Conference of State Legislatures and various state offices in the states we chose for comparison, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Finally, recognizing that a number of studies, commissions and work had been conducted prior to this report, there has been an effort to review, and where appropriate to incorporate, the good work of previous efforts in the framing of questions, the background, the data, and the recommendations that are contained herein. This work includes the study report of the Legislative Council Study of the Judicial Branch of State Government (December 1966), the report of the Personnel Board on Classification and Salary Adjustments for Vermont State Employees (February 1967), the Recommendations of the Legislative Improvements Study Committee (January 1971), the interim report of the Legislative Pay Board (April 1973), the Report of the Leadership Commission on Legislative Compensation and Benefits (January 1988); The Citizens’ Commission on Legislative Compensation for Expenses (March 1995); and the Business Roundtable report, The Growing Crisis with Executive Pay in the Vermont State Government (December 1999).
While many people assisted with the compilation of this report and its recommendations, the Snelling Center takes full responsibility for the data and assumptions used and the recommendations made.