SC salary commission cuts the pay of Santee Cooper CEO by $250K. Here’s why
Santee Cooper’s CEO is receiving the pay cut he requested after a vote Thursday by the Agency Head Salary Commission.
Jimmy Staton’s salary will drop by $250,000 to $1.25 million a year.
The state-owned utility’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Finissi and other senior management were slated to take on more responsibilities and receive a pay bump, Santee Cooper spokesperson Mollie Gore said in February.
As part of the reorganization, Staton asked the board to cut his $1.5 million salary to make up for the other raises, Gore said.
The Santee Cooper Board of Directors approved the pay cut for Staton last year.
The commission, which includes eight lawmakers and three people appointed by the governor, also approved a $241,150 bonus after he met certain performance metrics.
Staton’s contract also was extended by one year.
The agency head salary board also set the South Carolina Election Commission Director Conway Belangia’s pay at $180,000. Belangia was confirmed in April and his first several months included preparing for a congressional redistricting effort, which ultimately failed in the Senate, and finalizing an agreement to share the state’s sensitive voter data with the federal government. He also joined the election commission shortly before the June primary and runoff elections.
Joel Anderson, who took over as the director of South Carolina Department of Corrections last year, will be paid $264,300 a year. He previously was earning $229,832.
The commission also approved The Citadel hiring Frank McKenzie to be the military school’s president for $300,000. Commission members approved the Technical College of the Lowcountry hiring Laurie Boeding as its president for $220,000. Northeastern Technical College also is hiring Melissa Frank-Alston to be the school’s president for $180,000.
Leaders of 12 agencies also received raises ranging from $9,500 to $61,000 a year.
“We do it on performance and review, and also the length of their service, so this process is within the scope of the guidelines that we have,” Senate President Thomas Alexander said after the hearing. He sits on the commission.
He added some of the agency heads had not seen raises for several years.
Reporter Lucy Valeski contributed to this article.
