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Parson signs budget bill that guarantees 8.7% raise for Missouri state employees

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, flanked by cabinet members and elected officials, holds up a bill he signed that will increase state worker pay by more than 8% on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at the Truman Building in Jefferson City.
Sarah Kellogg
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, flanked by cabinet members and elected officials, holds up a bill he signed that will increase state worker pay by more than 8% on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at the Truman Building in Jefferson City.

State workers in Missouri will start seeing larger paychecks by the end of March after Gov. Mike Parson signed a supplemental budget bill into law on Monday.

The bill, which passed the legislature earlier in the month, includes an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for state employees and an extra $2 an hour for some workers with late-night or overnight shifts.

Workers will see the increase a lot sooner because it's wrapped into a supplemental budget bill and not the regular budget, which would take effect in July, Parson said.

“State employees have worked hard like everybody else through the things we’ve been through since I’ve been governor," Parson said after the bill signing. "Great to be able to reward them for that hard work.”

The increase for state employees has been a major priority for Parson for the past 4½ years, he said. Parson announced his recommendation for raises in January and gave lawmakers a March 1 deadline to pass them.

“The state employees do a great job every day out there,” he said. “We’re asking them to do more. The first thing we have to do is make sure they’re being paid a competitive wage, compared to the private sector.”

Parson said he hopes the significant pay increase will mean a lower turnover rate for state workers, especially if compensation is competitive with the private sector in Missouri. He emphasized how vital public workers are to ensure the state government works every day.

“State employees are the true example of public servants because every day in every walk of life, [they’re] helping somebody,” Parson said. “We're trying to get them through a system, and we're trying to make sure their lives are a little better.”

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Eric Schmid covers the Metro East area in Illinois for St. Louis Public Radio. He joins the news team as its first Report for America corps member and is tasked with expanding KWMU's coverage east from the Mississippi. Before joining St. Louis Public Radio, Eric held competitive internships at Fox News Channel, NPR-affiliate WSHU Public Radio and AccuWeather. As a news fellow at WSHU's Long Island Bureau, he covered governments and environmental issues as well as other general assignments. Eric grew up in Northern Colorado but attended Stony Brook University, in New York where he earned his degree in journalism in 2018. He is an expert skier, avid reader and lifelong musician-he plays saxophone and clarinet.
Sarah Kellogg is a first year graduate student at the University of Missouri studying public affairs reporting. She spent her undergraduate days as a radio/television major and reported for KBIA. In addition to reporting shifts, Sarah also hosted KBIA’s weekly education show Exam, was an afternoon newscaster and worked on the True/False podcast. Growing up, Sarah listened to episodes of Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! with her parents during long car rides. It’s safe to say she was destined to end up in public radio.