Clarksdale, Miss.—State employees would receive up to a 3 percent pay increase under a plan outlined by Lieutenant Governor candidate Delbert Hosemann in the Mississippi Delta today. The raise would be funded by saving 1 percent in administrative and overhead expenses in almost every State agency. Education, Mental Health, Child Protective Services, Corrections, and District Attorneys/Trial Judges would be exempt.
“We are not talking about cutting personnel or services; we are talking finding efficiencies,” said Hosemann, who is currently serving as Secretary of State. “Our State employees are underpaid, making it difficult to attract and retain workers. We need to send savings realized home in our employees’ paychecks.”
In the 2019 Legislative Session, legislators authorized their first across-the-board raise for employees in several years. The raise was intended to move positions closer to the relevant market rate, so employees received either a position realignment amount, if the amount to reach market rate was less than 3 percent, or a 3 percent increase. Hosemann’s plan would repeat this approach.
Similar proposals in other states have reaped more than anticipated savings.
“Our State employees have earned a well-deserved raise,” Hosemann said.
For more information about Hosemann’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor, visit www.delberthosemann.com.