Public Auditor Michael Pai told Senate President Pete P. Reyes and Speaker Arnold I. Palacios that a law allows OPA to set its own compensation, wage and salary scales with the approval of the Legislature.
OPA’s request comes in the heels of the government’s proposal to cut the work hours of thousands of its employees due to the islands’ worsening economic conditions.
Pai said OPA’s privilege to establish its own wage scale was never implemented despite a strategic planning proposed in 2003 to keep highly qualified staff.
OPA’s “[human resources] committee spent many arduous hours researching and analyzing prevailing market wages. The result was a proposed schedule that was never adopted,” Pai wrote to the Legislature.
“OPA invests a lot of resources in training its auditors and staff. The benefits of that training accrue over a period of years. OPA wants to maximize its investment by retaining highly qualified staff. Implementation of a salary scheduled is one facet of our staff retention strategy,” he added.
The public auditor’s annual salary is more than that of the governor and the lt. governor’s and is comparable to justices and judges.
The recommended new pay scale will require the government to pay an auditor/analyst between $33,969 to $42,422.63 per annum; auditor/analyst II, from $35,667.45 to $44,543.76; and auditor/analyst III from $37,450.82 to $46,770.95.
A senior auditor/analyst is recommended to be paid from $43,250 to $54,013.32 annually while an auditor/analyst manager, from $55,363 to $69,141.62.
Different set of wages are also recommended for investigators, administrative assistants and compliance specialists.
A House Joint Resolution endorsing the approval of a salary scheduled for OPA was prefiled by Rep. David M. Apatang, R-Saipan, and four others.
“The public auditor is statutorily authorized to set and determine higher compensation rates for certain technical and managerial positions for the purpose of attracting and retaining professional staff members and to mitigate the economic impact of the restriction imposed under paragraph (b) of 1 CMC § 2305,” the resolution states.
