Fallin: TSET Must Play By Same Rules As Everyone Else
Oklahoma governor says she doesn’t approve of agency’s $250K salary offer
by Rick Green
An Oklahoma agency violated the spirit of a state hiring freeze when it placed a former state official in a newly created job paying $250,000 per year, Gov. Mary Fallin said Thursday.
The salary offer from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust amounts to $100,000 more than Fallin herself earns.
“This agency needs to play by the same rules it has been playing under until it decided to create a new top-level position with such a high salary,” said Fallin. “At the bare minimum, TSET needs to submit the same paperwork for this position as it has for many others.
“This salary sends the wrong message when our state is facing a difficult economic and budget climate. These are public trust funds, and the public will lose trust in this important agency if this salary takes effect.”
This is a ridiculous stance by the governor. First, TSET takes no state tax dollars. Looking like a good move and it being a good move are completely different. Government does things that look good. The voters decided to set this money aside so it would not be ran like government. Shame on Mary Fallin. She should focus her energy on managing the things that she has constitutional authority! While $250,000 is a lot of money, our state’s health issues are complex and complicated (because our legislature won’t pass laws to deal with smoking like most states have done). In addition, TSET grants funds to many agencies and has to keep track of the grants, the outcomes and the impacted population. My husband was actually impacted by TSET, through one of their ads. If his life is saved (he quit smoking), I think $250,000 is a GREAT investment.