Gov. Kay Ivey rewarded most of her cabinet with generous pay raises for her second full term in office, increases ranging from 17% to 40%.
There are 23 men and women in Ivey’s cabinet, appointed officials who run executive branch agencies like the Department of Corrections, the Alabama Medicaid Agency, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Department of Labor.
“Governor Ivey is proud of the men and women on her Cabinet and the thousands of state employees serving Alabama, which is why she has advocated for their well-deserved pay raises,” said Gina Maiola, communications director for the governor. “Specifically speaking to our Cabinet members, it is standard practice at the beginning of a new term for the Governor’s Office to evaluate those salaries with the assistance of State Personnel.”
Ivey was elected to her second full term in office in Nov. 2022. She has been governor since replacing Robert Bentley when he resigned in April 2017.
The pay records for the cabinet members and other state employees can be found on the “checkbook” link at the state’s Open Alabama website.
Here are the current annual salaries for the cabinet members and how they compare to the previous salaries for them or their predecessors during Ivey’s first term.
- ABC Board Administrator Curtis Stewart, $239,784, a 36% increase over what predecessor Mac Gipson was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- State Banking Department Superintendent Mike Hill, $239,784, up 33% over what Hill was receiving in the same position in Nov. 2021.
- Secretary of the Department of Commerce Ellen McNair, $239,784, up 40% over what her predecessor, Greg Canfield, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Blankenship, $239,784, up 39% over what he was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm, $242,000, up 43% from what his predecessor, Jeff Dunn, received in fiscal year 2021.
- Secretary of Early Childhood Education Jan Hume, $161,160, down 1.5% from what her predecessor, Barbara Cooper, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Economic and Community Affairs Director Kenneth Boswell, $239,784, up 39% from what Boswell was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Smitherman, $177,888, up 17% from what his predecessor, Brian Hastings, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Finance Director Bill Poole, $258,216, up 17% from what Poole was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Human Resources Commissioner Nancy Buckner, $258,216, up 39% from what Buckner was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Secretary of Information Technology Daniel Urquhart, $201,504, up 17% from what his predecessor, Marty Redden, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler, $177,888, down 4% from what his predecessor, Jim Ridling, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington, $201,504, up 17% from what Washington was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor, $242,760, up 39% from what Taylor was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar, $258,216, up 17% from what Azar was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell, $201,504, up 17% from what she was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Alabama National Guard Adjutant General David Pritchett, $177,888, up 17% from what his predecessor, Adjutant General Sheryl Gordon, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Alabama Office of Minority Affairs Director Stacia Robinson, $177,888, up 26% from what her predecessor, Nichelle Nix, was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Director Cam Ward, $239,784, up 36% from what he was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Revenue Commissioner Vernon Barnett, $239,784, up 39% from what he was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Senior Services Commissioner Jean W. Brown, $177,888, up 20% from what she was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Tourism Director Lee Sentell, $165,144, up 17% from what he was receiving in Nov. 2021.
- Department of Transportation Director John Cooper, $258,216, up 32% from what he was receiving in Nov. 2021.
The Nov. 2021 cabinet members’ salaries listed above were taken from the 2022 Budget Fact Book published by the Legislative Services Agency’s Fiscal Division. The latest version of the rst
The most recent version of the Budget Fact Book no longer includes the salaries of cabinet members.
Legislative Services Agency Director Othni Lathram said the salaries are not the type of information for which the book is intended.
“The purpose of the Budget Fact book is to provide accurate information that is not readily available to the public in a useful format,” Lathram said. “Given the possible change in persons holding cabinet positions, the frequency of their pay changing, and the ease at which that information can be found through primary sources it seemed that information no longer fit that description.
“The list of the Governor’s cabinet is on her website www.governor.alabama.gov and the pay of every state employee and official current to the most recent pay period is available at www.open.alabama.gov.”
Alabama Education Lab Staff Writer Trish Crain contributed to this report.
