Multimillionaire Gov. Rick Scott is taking a single penny for his gubernatorial salary, but hes stocking his staff with people commanding six-figure salaries while promising to cut state spending as the state faces a $3.5 billion shortfall and 12 percent unemployment.
"I'm really not doing it for the salary, Scott said back in July when he first promised to work for next-to-nothing.
In doing so, Scott is saving the taxpayers about $130,000 in forgoing the usual statutory salary for the governor. But he isnt being as cheap with his immediate inner circle.
Most make about the same as those who did similar jobs under Scotts predecessor, Charlie Crist.
Commanding top salaries in the Scott administration are Chief of Staff Mike Prendergast, policy adviser Mary Ann Mac Carter and Budget Director Jerry McDaniel, who will all make $150,000 in their respective roles.
By comparison, for example, Erik Eikenberg, who served as one of Crists three chiefs of staff, made just over $147,000.
McDaniel is a veteran of the Crist administration, where he crafted the previous governors budgets and also served as a deputy chief of staff, but both Prendergast and Carter are new to state government. Prendergast, a retired Army colonel, lost a congressional bid this year to U.S. Rep Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Carter ran Scotts Conservatives for Patients Rights.
Three deputy chiefs of staff in Scotts office, however, will make less than people who worked in similar roles for Crist. Scott deputy chiefs of staff Carrie ORourke -- who was a fund-raiser for Scott opponent Bill McCollum -- and Jenn Ungru will make $100,000. Another deputy chief of staff, Fritz Brogan, will be paid $80,000.
By contrast, three deputy chiefs of staff who worked for Crist -- Kathy Mears, Shane Strum and Lori Rowe -- made $120,000.
A spokeswoman said Scott was committed to hiring the most qualified people to run the governors executive office.
Governor Scott believes in hiring the best people for the job, and offering a competitive salary is crucial for attracting the best individuals, said Scott spokeswoman Jennifer Meale.
Recruiters for top jobs in state government have complained in the past that the salaries almost never match what similar work would command in the private sector. During the last couple of years, the Cabinet has wrestled with the issue --for example, with the State Board of Administration, which invests state money. Wall Street investment professionals that do similar work often make far more than those who do it for state government, and the Cabinet was advised a couple of years ago that it should make the agencys pay more competitive.
In Scotts office, other top-paid officials will include Spencer Geissinger, who has worked as an advance man for both President George H.W. Bush and President George Bush, and will make $148,000 annually.
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, a public relations executive and Navy veteran who was a state representative prior to being tapped as Scotts running mate, will make $124,000, but her salary is dictated by state law. The job has no actual prescribed duties other than stepping in if the governor is incapacitated.
Other salaries announced Thursday include those of Communications Director Brian Burgess and Legislative Affairs Director Jon Costello, who will each be paid $110,000.
