But not everyone is working for pennies.
New Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll will get $124,851 a year ? the exact same salary LG Jeff Kottkamp drew to cut ribbons and staff the second-tier public events. And at least 10 of Scott?s top aides have been hired on permanently with six-figure salaries. That?s not out-of-the-ordinary pay for the top staff surrounding the governor.
Chief of staff Mike Prendergast is being paid $150,000, as is chief policy advisor Mary Ann Carter and budget director Jerry McDaniel. (That?s a $12,000 raise for McDaniel, who did the same job for the last governor but now also has to head up Scott?s Office of Fiscal Accountability).
Lobbyist Hayden Dempsey is getting paid $140,000 to be Scott?s special counsel for legislative affairs. Erik Figlio is getting $130,000 to serve as general counsel. Brian Burgess, the out-of-state communications consultant who worked for Scott?s campaign, is being paid $110,000 to run his press shop.
Here?s a minor surprise: Spencer Geissinger, the former advance man for President George W. Bush who ensured Scott?s inaugural was a demilitarized zone, is getting $148,000 to serve as ?director of external affairs.? Jenn Ungru, a GOP lawyer, is also coming on board as deputy chief of staff at a salary of $100,000.
Scott has yet to fill the vast majority of the jobs in his office, and the governor is technically being assisted by state workers on ?loan? from other agencies or holdovers from Gov. Charlie Crist?s administration.
Within the office Scott inherited this week, the average salary among the 287 existing EOG employees was $55,027. The median pay was $50,349, which is about $3,000 higher than the median household income overall in Florida.
The highest salary was Crist chief of staff Shane Strum, who was paid $147,000. Fourteen employees were making six-figure salaries ? including Crist?s $130,000 in pay ? and the lowest salary was $18,792 paid to a staff assistant whom we will not embarrass here.
