BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Though Louisiana continues to struggle with budget shortfalls, some state agencies gave pay raises to their workers this year. Department chiefs say employee performance merited the salary increases as agencies cut staff and ask workers to do more. Some of the raises were given by Jindal administration cabinet officials in their final weeks in office. Here’s a look at some of the departments that doled out the pay hikes:
TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT:
-3,802 employees
-Raises given Jan. 1
-$4.1M cost in current budget year.
-$8.6M cost next budget year.
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ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY:
-606 employees
-Raises given Dec. 21
-$953,260 cost in current budget year.
-$1.9 million cost next budget year.
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WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES:
-701 employees
-Raises given Dec. 21
-$1.1M cost in current budget year.
-$2.1M cost next budget year.
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COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AUTHORITY:
-144 employees
-Raises given in December
-$317,000 cost in current budget year.
-$423,000 cost next budget year.
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INSURANCE:
-175 employees
-Raises given Jan. 4
-$171,168 cost in current budget year.
-$370,864 cost next budget year.
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SECRETARY OF STATE:
-265 employees
-Raises given Oct. 1
-$368,329 cost in current budget year.
-$491,105 cost next budget year.
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AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY:
-499 employees
-Raises given between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31
-$706,105 cost in current budget year.
-$987,029 cost next budget year.
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Sources: Data provided to The Associated Press by the individual departments.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
