Guam's chief executive has sent another bill to the Guam Legislature – this time proposing to establish the commission. The bill seeks to create what the governor calls a “permanent, independent process to evaluate and recommend compensation for elected officials based on facts, not politics.” 

It points to salary disparities across branches of government, noting that village mayors currently receive higher compensation than senators, despite lawmakers’ broader legislative responsibilities.  It also states that the salaries of the governor and lieutenant governor “do not align with the level of responsibility they bear in overseeing the operations of the entire Government of Guam.”

Under the proposal, a five-member commission would be formed – made up of the director of Department of Administration, the president of the Guam Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, the public auditor, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Guam, and the chairperson of the Civil Service Commission or their designees. Their task: conduct salary reviews and recommend adjustments for our elected officials.

Within six months of the law’s enactment, the commission would submit its findings to the governor and the speaker of the legislature.  And if lawmakers take no action within 45 days, the commission’s recommendations would automatically take effect at the start of the next legislature.

In a letter to Speaker Frank Blas, Jr., Governor Leon Guerrero wrote that the question of how much elected officials should be paid has been “clouded by mistrust, politics, and perception.”

She adds that even justified discussions about pay have been seen through the lens of self-interest, “weakening our ability to have an honest conversation about the value of public service.” She states the independent, data-driven commission will “take a hard look at the structure of compensation in the executive and legislative branches to ensure that pay reflects responsibility, workload, and public accountability.”

The governor believes this reform “establishes a simple but vital principle that no elected official should ever set their own salary.”

And in a press release, Leon Guerrero added, “this proposal will depoliticize this process once and for all by removing salary decisions from those who directly benefit from them…by removing politics from the equation, we strengthen the integrity of our institutions and reaffirm that public service is about duty, not self-interest.”

The measure will now head to the legislature for review, where a public hearing will be scheduled to give the community a chance to weigh in on whether Guam’s elected officials should get a raise –  and who should decide it.