Kentucky state government salary
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This page describes the compensation, salaries, and benefits that Kentucky's public employees receive from state and local government.
Soon, opendoor.ky.gov will provide salary information.
Elected Officials Salaries
| Office | '07 Salary | '10 Salary | Current Official |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | $145,885[2] | Steve Beshear | |
| Lieutenant Governor | $108,720 | Jerry Abramson | |
| Secretary of State | $108,720 | Alison Lundergan Grimes | |
| Attorney General | $108,720 | Jack Conway | |
| Treasurer | $108,720 | Tedd Hollenbach |
The salary of Kentucky's governor ranks 18th among U.S. governors' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. governors is $128,735. The median salary earned by U.S. governors is $129,962.[3]
Legislators' Salary
California state legislators make $188.22 per day.[4] Legislators also receive a per diem of $135 per day plus mileage tied to federal rate.[5]
Judicial Salaries
| Position | '09 Salary | Current Justice |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | $135,504 | John Minton |
| Associate Justice | $135,504 | Bill Cunningham |
| Associate Justice | $135,504 | Lisabeth Hughes Abramson |
| Deputy Chief Justice | $135,504 | Mary Noble |
| Associate Justice | $135,504 | Wil Schroder |
| Associate Justice | $135,504 | Will Scott |
| Associate Justice | $135,504 | Daniel Venters |
The salary of Kentucky's chief justice ranks 38th among U.S. chief justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. chief justices is $155,230. The median salary earned by U.S. chief justices is $151,284.[6]
The salary of Kentucky's associate justices ranks 40th among U.S. associate justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. associate justices is $151,142. The median salary earned by U.S. associate justices is $145,984.[6]
State and Local Employees
According to 2008 Census data, the state of Kentucky and local governments in the state employed a total of 279,962 people.[7] Of those employees, 225,289 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $738,430,416 per month and 54,673 were part-time employees paid $52,994,423 per month.[7] Nearly 62% of those employees, or 173,545 employees, were in education or higher education.[7]
Teacher Salaries
The Kentucky state constitution requires that the state legislature provide for "an efficient system of common schools throughout the State."[8]
| Beginning Teacher Salary | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| $30,525 | $47,472 |
Commonwealth Employee Benefits
The Commonwealth of Kentucky offers many benefits to its employees
Insurance
Health
Health insurance is available only to full time employees.[10] Coverage effective on the first day of the second month of employment.[10] The Commonwealth pays a fixed amount and the employee pays for additional options.[10]
Life
The Commonwealth provides employees with $20,000 of life insurance at no cost to the employee.[10] Optional life insurance is available for purchase by the employee.[10]
Other Benefits
- Flexible Spending Account - A healthcare FSA is pre-tax money you set aside, through payroll deductions, to use for certain expenses not reimbursed by your health insurance plan. A dependent care FSA is a pre-tax benefit to use for childcare services such as daycare or adult care.
- Health Reimbursement Account - If an employee elects to waive health insurance coverage, he/she will receive an employer contribution amount of $175 per month, for a total contribution of $2100, which will be deposited into a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). An HRA is a federally qualified expense account that consists of funds set aside by employers to reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses such as doctor’s office visits, x-rays, and prescriptions.
Paid Days Off
Annual Leave
Full time employees can earn annual leave, part-time and interim employees do not earn annual leave (also known as vacation leave).[11] The amount of annual leave earned increases by years of service. For the first five years, employees earn between 7.5 and 8.0 hours of leave per month, for 12 days earned per year.[11] The employees can carry over at least 30 days of leave per year, with the amount that can be carried over increasing on years of service.[11]
Sick Leave
Employees earn between 7.5 and 8.0 hours per month, assuming they meet work hour requirements to be eligible for leave accrual. There is no limit on accumulation. After 10 years of service an employee receives 10 bonus days and after 20 years of service, the employee earns an additional 10 bonus days.[10]
Vacation Commonwealth employees receive 11 1/2 vacation days per year.[12]
- New Year's
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
- Good Friday (1/2 Day)
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving
- The Day After Thanksgiving
- The Day before Christmas
- Christmas
- The Day before New Years Eve
Other Leave
- Military
- Jury duty
- Voting
- Blood Donation
Retirement
Employees join the Kentucky Employee Retirement System KERS program.[10] The Commonwealth contributes to the employees' account at the rate determined by the Board of Trustees, which is currently 11.61% of the employee's salary.[10] The employee provides 5.00% of his or her salary.[10] New members also pay a 1% contribution for health insurance to bring their total contribution to 6%.[10]
Kentucky lawmakers in 2010 voted to raise the contribution of public-school workers toward retiree health care from 1% to 3.75% over the next six years, with state employers will also contribute more.[13]
Additional reading
- Public employee salary
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
External links
- Kentucky Personnel Cabinet
- FreedomKentucky.org Database - Searchable database of financial data for school districts, cities, counties, and government agencies in Kentucky
- State employee salary information, Louisville Courier-Journal
- 2006 Kentucky State Salary Database, Herald Leader
References
- ↑ The Council of States Governments The Book of States 2010 Table 4.11
- ↑ The Council of State Governments The Book of States 2010 Table 4.3
- ↑ ‘‘The Council of State Governments,’’ “The Book of the States: 2008”
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislators 2010 Legislator Compensation Data
- ↑ NCSL, 2012 Compensation Data, Accessed June 12, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Salary Resource Center" as of Jan. 1, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 2008 Kentucky Public Employment U.S. Census Data
- ↑ Kentucky Constitution,"Education, Section 183," retrieved March 13, 2010
- ↑ [2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z%20TO%202012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 Employee Benefits Schedule
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Annual Leave
- ↑ state holidays
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal "States Press Workers on Health Care" Aug. 27, 2010
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