The Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP) has released its Fat Cat Report to highlight how much public officials are being paid in the Magnolia State compared to average Mississippi citizens.
Of the 50 highest-paid public officials, only four are elected and 26 are school superintendents. The average salary of those listed is $192,000, which is $145,489 more than the median income of Mississippi residents ($46,511).
In addition, the report shows that top public-sector official pay increases twice as quickly as other public-sector workers’ pay. For example, the superintendent of the Humphreys County School District saw a 102-percent salary increase from last year, making the payment from a little less than $90,000 to now $182,000.
“The public has a right to know how public money gets spent,” Douglas Carswell, President and CEO of the MCPP added. “Our report shows that salaries for top public officials in our state are rising fast. The Fat Cats are getting fatter.”
According to the report, the collective $9.6 million salary costs of Mississippi’s 50 highest-paid officials would be able to provide 194 new nurses, 232 additional State Troopers, or 228 extra teachers.
The top-10 highest public official salaries in Mississippi are:
- State Superintendent of Public Education – $300,000
- State Medical Examiner 1- $290,000
- Deputy Chief Medical Examiner – $289,000
- State Medical Examiner 2 – $265,000
- Tupelo Public School District Superintendent – $234,000
- Executive Director of Medical Licensure Board – $231,000
- State Health Officer – $230,000
- Jackson Public School Superintendent – $225,000
- Associate State Medical Examiner – $225,000
- Desoto County School District Superintendent- $210,900
All of these are higher than Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves’ annual salary of $122,160.
“In summary, the report shows that government waste does not happen in a vacuum,” Carswell said. “An overpaid bureaucrat is ultimately feeding off the pocketbooks of citizens. It’s time to put the Mississippi Fat Cats on a diet of lower salaries so that taxpayer dollars can be protected from waste.”
