Arkansas prosecuting attorneys, state court judges ask for pay raises

Judge Edwin Keaton, representing the judicial council, speaks during the Independent Citizens Commission meeting Friday at the state Capitol in Little Rock.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
Judge Edwin Keaton, representing the judicial council, speaks during the Independent Citizens Commission meeting Friday at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)


Officials representing the state's court judges and prosecuting attorneys on Friday asked the Arkansas Independent Citizens Commission to grant judges and prosecutors pay raises to help them keep up with inflation.

They made brief pitches for the pay increases after the commission elected retired state Supreme Court Justice Annabelle Tuck as its chairwoman. The commission's former chairman Chuck Banks resigned from the commission in a letter dated Aug. 3.

The commission's next meeting will be Oct. 21 or Oct. 28, Tuck said.

The Arkansas Independent Citizens -- created under Constitutional Amendment 94, approved by voters in November of 2014 -- sets the salaries for the state's elected officials. Before Amendment 94, the Legislature set the salaries of the state's elected officials.

Edwin Keaton, president of Arkansas Judicial Council, told the commission the judicial council is requesting pay raises for state court judges as a result of inflation. The judicial council includes the state's 126 circuit judges, 12 Court of Appeals judges, and seven state Supreme Court justices.

He noted that Gov. Asa Hutchinson authorized a 2% increase for executive branch employees in February, citing rising inflation, and authorized state agencies in the executive branch in May to use up to 5% of their total payroll costs for merit raises for fiscal 2023, which started July 1.

"We are just asking that we be included in those increases because inflation, it affects us as well, and we continue the people's business, handling cases and closing cases at high rates," Keaton told the commission.

In a letter to the commission, Keaton wrote that "Judges and their staffs deal with difficult situations with individuals facing a variety of problems.

"We feel our response during the pandemic has been exemplary," he said in his letter. "We often put our own health at risk to ensure courts in our state remained open. Evidence of this includes our caseload clearance rate for all cases in 2021, which was 93%."

Dan Kemp, chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, said in a letter to the commission that he supports the request for a cost-of-living adjustment for state court judges and justices in his capacity as chief justice and on behalf of the entire Arkansas judiciary.

He referred to the pay raises for executive branch employees authorized by the Republican governor this year as a result of the rising cost of living.

"Our state's judges and their staff have responded admirably to the many changes and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic," Kemp wrote in his letter. "Their perseverance in keeping our judicial system open and accessible to the citizens of this state despite the obvious health risk they faced is commendable."

The state's district courts request a salary increase totaling 7% and "this would mean that state district judges will be afforded the same pay increase as state employees," Reid Harrod, president of the Arkansas District Judges Council, wrote in a letter to the commission.

The salary of the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court is $205,324 a year, while the salaries of the six associate justices on the state Supreme Court are $190,126 a year.

Judges on the state Court of Appeals make $184,497 a year, and the chief judge on that court is paid $187,311.

Circuit court judges are paid $180,129 a year, and state district court judges are paid $157,613 a year.

Teresa Howell, president of the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association, told the commission that "we support the judges' statements that have made through their letter and also their statements today."

The salaries of full-time prosecuting attorneys have been set at 95% of the salaries of circuit judges for the past several years, and the salaries of the part-time prosecuting attorneys have been set at 85% of the salaries of the full-time prosecuting attorneys, she said.

"We would ask for that to be recognized and approved as well," said Howell, who is the prosecuting attorney for the 7th Judicial District, which includes Hot Spring and Grant counties.

"We support everything that the judges have said with their caseload, what they have been dealing with and inflation, going through the covid backlog," she said. "They have worked diligent with that, and we have worked right there beside them as well."

Full-time prosecuting attorneys are paid $171,122 a year, while part-time prosecuting attorneys are paid $145,454 a year.

In a letter dated Aug. 3 to Hutchinson and members of the Independent Citizens Commission, Banks said it's been an honor to be appointed by the governor to the commission and he has been privileged to serve with the commission and be selected as its chairman.

"I recognize the remainder of my term lasts longer than the end of this year, but family duties and personal responsibilities have made it necessary for me to resign as a member and chair of this distinguished group," he wrote in his letter.

"The selection of each member of this Commission is an exemplary example of 'citizen service,'" Banks said.

In addition to Tuck, commissioners Tommy May, Jonathan Rogers and Jan Zimmerman of Little Rock attended Friday's meeting. Clark Smith and Phillip Fletcher didn't attend.

Referring to the vacant commission position due to Bank's resignation, Tuck said Friday morning that "it would be nice to have another member of the commission on board, so I will work on that."

Hutchinson spokeswoman Shealyn Sowers said Friday afternoon the governor filled the vacancy Monday.

"Frank Guinn has been appointed to complete the remainder of Chuck Banks's term (expires 11/5/22) and to serve an additional full 4-year term, which will expire 11/5/26," she said in a written statement. Guinn is from Paragould.

Tuck said she wants the commission to hear from the state Department of Finance and Administration's chief economic forecaster, John Shelnutt, during its next meeting, which will be held Oct. 21 or Oct. 28.

She said the commission needs information about judicial salaries at all levels provided by the National Center for State Courts. She said she also wants the commission to get information about most recent numbers on case disposition for each judicial district.

The governor's salary is $158,739 a year, while the attorney general's salary is $146,355 a year and the secretary of state's salary is $101,322 a year. The salary for the treasurer, auditor and land commissioner is $95,693 a year each. The salary for lieutenant governor, which is considered a part-time post, is $46,704 a year.

Salaries for state lawmakers, except for the Senate president pro tempore and speaker, are $44,356 a year. Salaries of the Senate president pro tempore and House speaker are $50,661 a year.

The commission voted Friday to recommend the House and the Senate followed the published guidance and recommendations of the U.S. General Services Administration for the amounts paid to lawmakers for per diem and reimbursement in the 94th General Assembly, which begins Jan. 9.


  photo  Teresa Howell (right), president of the board for the Prosecuting Attorneys Association, speaks to the Independent Citizens Commission with Matt Durrett, prosecuting attorney for the 4th Judicial District, on Friday at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
 
 


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