Pay for the House's top lawyer, Charles Reid, is up 31 percent to $118,000, an analysis by The Associated Press showed.

Reid left the House in 2001 and worked with a Columbia law firm on redistricting. After returning this year, his pay increased $28,000 as he took on administrative functions as well as legal work.

House Speaker David Wilkins says his aide, who he also described as his friend, "is an incredible value for the House."

Reid shares administrative duties with Wilkins' chief of staff, Christy Cox, who also has been the House's communications director during the four years reviewed, 2001-04. Wilkins said Cox and Reid both took on more responsibility as he restructured the top tiers of the House's internal management. Cox, too, reaps bigger paychecks as a result: an $11,500, or 17 percent, increase to $64,800 a year. "She is doing the job of two people," Wilkins said.

Wilkins said the top-line numbers don't tell the whole story. Overall, the House's payroll is down $41,000 during the past four years and has six fewer staffers, he said.

Still, bigger paychecks for top staffers raise questions inside and outside the House.

"Do you need to pay that kind of money in order to hire qualified people to do those jobs?" asked John Crangle, state director of Common Cause, a Washington, D.C.-based government watchdog group.

"I think we may need to look at a mechanism and have far more discussion on these salaries and some of these positions," said Rep. John Scott, D-Columbia.

Scott questioned why Cox is paid more than the House Judiciary Committee's top lawyer, Ben Mustian. That's true even after Mustian had a 19 percent raise after taking the job last year. "A communications specialist who makes more than a lawyer? Come on now," Scott said.

Reid returned and the House "gave him a $28,000 increase," Scott said. That means he's making as much as House Clerk Sandra McKinney after her pay rose 14 percent during the past four years, Scott said.

Scott isn't involved in setting pay and isn't informed about issues surrounding it, Wilkins said. Reid "took a significant cut in pay to come back," Wilkins said.

Wilkins said fewer workers are doing more work and deserve the extra pay that goes with those responsibilities, but Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said the same is true everywhere in state government after years of budget cuts. "I don't see where they have gotten commensurate pay raises to compensate them for those additional duties," she said.

Wilkins said he's seen reports of agencies doing just that.

Crangle questioned the accessibility of pay information for State- house staff members. The Budget and Control Board releases salary information for other agencies, Crangle noted. "It seems to me the that there's no justification whatsoever for not including legislative staff salaries in that list that's disclosed on a regular basis," he said.

Cox and Senate Clerk Jeffrey Gossett said that list involves people who work in the executive branch of government, not the legislative branch. Both said salary information is available for legislative staff when requested.

In the Senate, only one staff member in the $50,000-and-over group won a double-digit raise. Michael Hitchcock, the deputy clerk and lawyer, received a 14 percent, or $9,315 raise since 2002, and now makes $78,000.

Gossett said the raise came as Hitchcock was promoted to deputy clerk.

However, the rest of the 23 Senate staff members making more than $50,000 a year received raises of 3 percent or less during the four years reviewed. That's about what the typical state worker received during the past four years.

There's good reason for that, said Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greer, who runs the Senate committee that sets staff pay. "We just take seriously the terrible financial situation we are in. Money's just so scarce."

Pay rose faster for top House staffers than for top Senate staff during the past four years.

Employee Position Salary Change, 2001-04

SENATE

Jeffrey Gossett Senate clerk $112,766 3 percent

Michael Couick Judiciary Committee general counsel $106,538 3 percent

Michael Shealy Finance Committee budget director $105,266 no increase

John Hazzard counsel to president pro tem $88,162 3 percent

Susan Barden Judiciary Committee assistant research director $84,871 3 percent

Michael Hitchcock deputy clerk $78,000 14 percent

Lisa Nichols Finance Committee senior budget analyst $77,244 no increase

Jack Kresslein Education Committee research director $71,760 3 percent

Robert Dawkins Finance Committee chief of staff $71,313 3 percent

Sharon Gunter Judiciary Committee staff attorney $69,513 3 percent

HOUSE

Charles Reid House general counsel $118,000 31 percent

Sandy McKinney House clerk $118,000 14 percent

Don Hottel Ways and Means chief of staff $83,500 4 percent

Beverly Smith Ways and Means budget director $80,075 7 percent

Tim Rogers Ways and Means analyst $77,900 3 percent

Sandy Smith Education Committee research director $72,139 2 percent

Mitch Dorman sergeant at arms $67,896 2 percent

Christy Cox chief of staff and communications director $64,800 17 percent

Mary Denis Cauthen Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee research director $62,906 2 percent

Ben Mustian Judiciary Committee chief counsel $61,500 19 percent

Sources: Senate clerk; House speaker

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