SC is handing out pay raises—if you’re a state leader. Why agency heads are getting raises

Several weeks after seven South Carolina agency heads were given 20% to 30% raises, a subcommittee of the state commission convened to consider others. The group reviewed 25 raise requests and recommended approving 22 on Thursday, ranging from 3% to 22%.

Unlike the general raises state employees received this year, agency heads are reviewed for raises every few years. That began nearly 40 years ago, when the commission was created by the General Assembly in 1984. The board was created to ensure that one person wasn’t dictating another’s pay and to provide a more fluid approach to why raises were given.

Commissioners said agency chief salary increases are based on a number of factors, including performance, tenure, expectations and comparisons to other agencies. Agency chief jobs require skills and experience that warrant higher salaries, they added. The state reviews agency leaders’ salaries every five years and considers other factors, such as inflation and job market competition, to decide whether to increase the salary and by how much.

The subcommittee, comprised of Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, and Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, will next present the requests to the full committee. A date has not yet been set.

Hembree said the full committee either enacts or rejects the proposed requests. He said a study by Korn Ferry, a consulting firm specializing in best-in-class organizational structures, showed that most agency heads are entitled to raises because of inflation and also because of rising expectations, according to their website.

Agency heads have not received the same raise (2.5% this year) that all other government employees have received in the five years between these evaluations.

“Some of the requests were very aggressive. Some were very reasonable and even a little low. We looked at what they were asking for, where they were in their tenure at the agency, how long they’d been there,” Hembree said.

The agency’s board of directors requests the commission for its leader’s raise. For cabinet agencies, the governor’s office.

Before the full committee meets, the higher education request subcommittee must still meet. Agency commissions also conduct an evaluation process of agency heads that includes an annual review where performance metrics and goals are posted for the upcoming year. At the end of the year, the commission reviews it.

Hembree said there were times in organizations when people in second or third place were paid more than their bosses.

Hembree said if some of the requests are “unusual” or if committee members have concerns about performance, they will be addressed at the full committee meeting. But Hembree said most of them are raises he feels good about.

“I think we’re pretty fair; we’re fair to employees and fair to taxpayers,” Hembree said.

Hembree said it’s wise to have a body that reviews the salaries and job duties of all agency heads to make sure the process is fair. The commission can give a sense of where agencies and leaders are in their roles, their functions and roles in government. With the commission, they have the opportunity to compare and contrast to make sure it’s fair, he said.

On Thursday, the subcommittee recommended raises for 22 of the 25 agency heads discussed. Here are some of the recommendations approved:

• Forestry Commission agency chief Scott Phillips has been offered a 19.7% raise. His current salary is $140,291

• Timothy Keown, president of the John De La Howe School agency, was offered a 15.5% raise. His current salary is $131,560.

• Katherine Harrison, head of the Higher Education Tuition Grants agency, has been offered a 15.1% raise. Her current salary is $104,226

• Jolene Madison, head of the agency for the Deaf and Blind, was offered a 22.9% raise. Her current salary is $130,181.

The following three did not receive any recommendations or increases:

• Carolyn Lybarker, head of the Department of Consumer Affairs, received no referrals. Her current salary is $143,382.

• Amy Bartow Melia, the head of the State Museum agency, did not receive any recommendations. Her current salary is $164,534.

• Adrienne Fairwell, president of the Educational Television Communications Agency, received a recommendation that no raise be given. Her current salary is $200,000.