CHARLESTON, W.Va. – House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, today announced his leadership team has continued the House Republican commitment to promote efficiencies and streamline staff costs for the House of Delegates – efforts that have now saved taxpayers more than $1.8 million since 2015.
“When the GOP took over at the beginning of 2015, we were determined to lead by example and promote responsible, efficient government practices – and that begins with how we manage the Legislature,” Speaker Hanshaw said. “We must never lose sight of the fact that every dollar the government spends is a dollar taken out of the pockets of our hardworking citizens, so we must be sure we’re spending their money as wisely as possible.”
On Wednesday, delegates passed House Resolution 4, which authorized the hiring and payment of employees for the coming year.
In 2014, prior to the Republican majority, the House of Delegates had 49 full-time employees, 68 per diem employees (those employed on a daily basis during the legislative session) and an annual payroll of $3,121,075. This year, the House will have 38 full-time employees, 46 per diem employees and a budgeted payroll of $2,564,154.
This represents a decline of $137,704 from last year’s payroll (43 full-time employees and 52 per diem staff), and a reduction of $556,921 from 2014 payroll costs.
In total, Republican House leadership has cumulatively saved West Virginia taxpayers nearly $1.8 million in payroll costs since 2014.
Speaker Hanshaw said the recent improvement in the state’s budget picture is no excuse to lose focus on running a more efficient government.
“Just because we’re now running surpluses does not mean we have permission to open the floodgates on government spending and re-bloat our bureaucracy,” Speaker Hanshaw said. “West Virginians still demand we spend their money as efficiently and carefully as possible, and we remain committed to controlling government spending and fighting to rein in costs.”
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