Fat Cat Salary for new PERS Official
PERS executive director salary could require legislature's approval
The Public Employees' Retirement System board heard Oct. 29 that hiring a new executive director competitively could cost between $350,000 and $460,000, a figure that may require lawmakers to sign off.
At the Administrative Committee meeting, Kelly, chair of the board's Ad Hoc Executive Director Search Committee, whose full name and title could not be confirmed, told fellow trustees that going above the current budget would mean seeking outside authority. "If you were to go to 400 or 460 we would have to go in front of the legislature and ask for some salary authority because we haven't earmarked that much in the salary budget," Kelly said.
The board did not set a final salary range at the meeting. Instead, members directed staff to gather additional data on pay at comparable public pension systems before deciding where to set a floor for the position.
PERS oversees roughly $40 billion in public pension assets, making the compensation of its top executive a matter of public-spending interest. Any request for additional salary authority would have to go before the Legislature before a final figure is adopted.