Alabama senate leader slashed 40 staffers, saved state $1 million per year (analysis)

Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh Yellowhammer Politics — Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In spite of cutting more than $1 million per year from his office’s budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh (R-Anniston) is now coming under fire for giving his chief of staff Philip Bryan a $40,000 raise.

The Pro Tem, the most senior post in the Alabama Senate, has the ability to spend the money appropriated to his office in whatever way he sees fit, including what to pay his staffers, as long as it is within the budget approved by the legislature.

During the last year before Republicans took control of the Alabama Legislature after the 2010 elections, the Senate Pro Tem’s office spent $2.1 million and employed more than 40 employees, many of whom reportedly worked as drivers, “gophers,” and assistants to members in the majority. During the Republicans’ first year of control (2011) that budget was slashed to only $1.1 million, and a staff of only 8.

Bryan, who served as the Alabama Republican Party’s director of communications before becoming Marsh’s top staffer, earned a spot on the Yellowhammer Power and Influence list in 2014 for his effectiveness as the Pro Tem’s chief of staff.

Even Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Quinton Ross, have came to Bryan’s defense.

“Government has to function and you have to have good people in place,” Ross told AL.com, also mentioning that the pro em has further saved the state money by declining the use of a security driver.

Bryan said he runs a very lean operation, mentioning that he and his three-person staff have forgone some of the benefits to which other state employees are entitled, including the opportunity to cash in their unused leave when they finish serving the state.

An in-depth report in 2012 by the Montgomery Advertiser gives a peek into just how much Marsh has reduced his office’s budget compared to his predecessor.

“During their first year in office, the Republicans controlling the state Senate president pro tem’s office spent $751,000,” the article begins. “Democrats spent more than $293,000 in one month during their last year in the office.”

The report goes on to describe the excesses often seen in the Pro Tem’s office prior to Marsh’s tenure, growing from six figures to seven.

The available budget for the President Pro Tem’s office grew from $665,000 in the 2001 fiscal year to $2.3 million for the 2008 fiscal year. That total does not include some unused funds from 2007, which brought the total available to $3.29 million. Any unused funds can be rolled over into the budget for the next fiscal year.

In 2001, the office spent $629,304, in 2004 it spent $1.48 million, and in 2007 it spent $973,405.

According to the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) the pro tem’s budget is only 46 percent of what it was in 2011, a cut of more than $1 million.

The Pro Tem’s office confirmed to Yellowhammer Tuesday that any cuts to the general fund budget will also affect them, meaning they could face an additional $100,000+ cut in the upcoming fiscal year.

So while it is encouraging to see the media suddenly advocate for government streamlining rather than tax hikes, it seems curious that they would latch on to the Pro Tem’s office, which by any reasonable measure has been a picture of efficiency since Republicans took control in late 2011.