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Associated Press
The state Transportation Commission wants a 10 percent raise for the department's executive director, Elizabeth Mabry, but Gov. Mark Sanford is concerned about big raises for state agency heads.
Six of the seven commissioners voted to request the raise for Mabry, who has not received a raise in several years.
Mabry, who earns $129,780, has run the 5,000-employee agency since 1996.
Sanford has concerns about giving any special raises to agency directors because of concerns about future state budgets, spokesman Will Folks said.
"She has done a good job and she's very hardworking," said commissioner Robert Harrell of Charleston.
Harrell said he is concerned that the state is hiring officials at other agencies who make much more that Mabry.
It's wrong to hold down the salaries of veteran directors, he said.
"It doesn't make sense to bring in a new hire at more than a veteran employee's pay," Harrell said.
The Agency Head Salary Commission has recommended raises across the board of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent for agency directors, other than those who are being considered for special increases, said Rep. Lewis Vaughn, R-Greer, a member of the panel.
"If any agency head in this state deserves a raise, it's Elizabeth Mabry," Vaughn said.
Agency directors do not automatically get the pay raises approved for most state workers, which is 3 percent this year.
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