A record 310 Idaho state employees have higher salaries than Gov. Butch Otter, led by Boise State University football coach Chris Peterson.
Peterson’s $807,000 salary, which comes from both state and private sources, is about 7 1/2 times that of Otter’s $108,700 annual income – Otter opted to turn down his scheduled 3 percent pay raise this year as a state budget crunch will keep other state employees from getting their raises.
Peterson is followed distantly by BSU men’s basketball coach Greg Graham with a salary of $344,000. BSU President Bob Kustra places third at $299,000, followed by Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas at $287,000, BSU athletic director Eugene Bleymaier at $266,000; University of Idaho academic faculty member and dean Aicha Elshabini at $231,000; and U I interim president Steve Dailey Laursen at $220,000.
In 2007, a survey by the Council of State Governments ranked Otter’s pay 35th among the 50 states, and well below the national average of $124,400 dollars. Otter also receives a $4,500 monthly housing allowance, since Idaho is one of six states with no official governor’s residence.
Among those who now make more than the governor are his chief of staff, physicians employed by the state Department of Health and Welfare, and all of the state’s district judges. (Spokesman Review)
