Senator Proposes Using Tobacco Money For State Workers’ Pay Raises

Missouri is going through some tough budget times. But that isn’t stopping a State Senator from calling for a pay raise for state employees. Senator Harry Wiggins of Kansas City wants a one-time, across-the-board, $600 increase financed with money from Missouri’s share of the national tobacco settlement. Wiggins says the move would be warranted because state workers need more money. Besides, he says, the money to pay for the one-time raise would represent only a small slice of the tobacco settlement pie. The price tag for Wiggins’ proposal would be between $23-million and $25-million.