LITTLE ROCK A legislative panel Thursday signed off on paying Gov. Asa Hutchinson's nominee to be president of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority $106,919 a year through the end of April when the current president, Gene Eagle, retires.
The Joint Budget Committee's Personnel Subcommittee approved the salary recommended by the state's personnel administrator, Kay Terry, for Aaron Burkes.
Burkes served in the state House of Representatives from 2007-09, worked in banking and real estate development in Northwest Arkansas for 15 years and has been an administrator at the Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin the past three years.
He started work Monday, and his $106,919 a year salary is being paid out of money set aside for a deputy director position at the authority, Terry said.
Burkes will train under Eagle and then be eligible for the $143,187-a-year salary for the president after Eagle retires, Terry said. Eagle, who has worked in state government for more than 30 years, is paid the maximum.
Hutchinson said Monday that Burkes is his nominee to the authority's board to be its president. The University of Arkansas had announced Burkes would be the university's associate vice chancellor for business affairs, beginning this month, but Burkes decided to work for the Hutchinson administration instead.
Burkes' salary was scheduled to be $138,000 a year at UA, said spokesman Mark Rushing.
The development finance authority administers tax-exempt bonds and other debt instruments to promote economic development, homeownership and affordable rental housing, according to its website.
NW News on 03/14/2015