Be wary of so-called Citizens Commission

Our View

Be wary of so-called Citizens Commission

Thanks to the good voters of Arkansas there is this so-called “panel” by the name of The Independent Citizens Commission. Oh come on people, every voter should remember passing that cleverly disguisied constitutional amendment back in 2014 that created this panel and gave it the awesome authority to set the salaries of state legislators constitutional officers, judges and prosecuting attorneys.

Oh, and lets remember this panel of generous citizens approved raises for all offices under its jurisdiction, with legislators receiving an increase of nearly 150 percent.

The raises for these legislators, who meet annually as well as attend committee meetings throughout the year, now get as much as $60,000 annually and more.

That is because this amendment, which was then called Amendment 94, put no limit on the initial raises. Now we have learned that these elected representatives of ours may be in for yet another bump in salary but this time by no more than 15 percent from what they got the previous year.

This panel, with all its generosity with our tax dollars, is headed by a man by the name of Larry Ross who came out the other day warning us that his pan just might decide sometime in June whether salaries should be adjusted for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. That would be done, according to Mr. Ross, so that these public figures can keep up with the cost of living, as if these elected positions were designed to support a upper level life style.

There is even more reason for these elected officials to get excited about in this regard. So seems John Shelnutt, economic analysis and tax research administrator for the state Department of Finance and Administration, told Ross and his panel the state coffers are flush with surplus revenue and his revenue forecast projects a comfortable $35.9 million surplus at the end of the current fiscal year.

Oh, and by the way, at the end of April, state revenues for the fiscal year to date were $110 million above forecast, plenty of tax dough to hand out for so-called “cost of living” raises to these elected officials.

“We’re going to have a surplus,” Shelnutt shouted out to the panel in rejoice recently.

Before voters created this monster, salaries of all state elected officials were set by the constitution, with the Legislature authorized to approve cost-of-living adjustments. Well, as we can all now see, that has changed thanks to the generosity of the taxpaying voters who gave their stamp of approval to this amendment they probably knew very little or nothing about.

Because of what this panel did last year in handing out these enormous raises we understand there is a move to place another initiative on the ballot to repeal this amendment and place the decision regarding salary increases back in the laps of the Arkansas voters where it should be.

When we listen to some arrogant lawmakers talk about wanting to spend more of our tax dollars on government subsidies and promote the idea Arkansans need to pay more taxes at the pump it sends chill bumps down the backs of hard working citizens when they hear when this politically appointed panel doles out hefty raises to their elected friends in Little Rock.