At a time when city workers across Colorado are dealing with pay cuts, frozen salaries and unpaid furlough days, a public entity that represents them has significantly increased the compensation packages for its top officers.
The executive director and chief financial officer of the taxpayer-funded Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency have seen their compensation rise by more than 23 percent and 30 percent, respectively, since 2006, a review of public records by The Denver Post has found.
CIRSA’s raises came during a climate that saw some public executives forgo raises to ease tensions among rank-and-file workers who weren’t getting them.
“I think they may be in for a hailstorm,” political consultant Katy Atkinson said of the executives.
Governmental entities such as CIRSA have to walk a fine line, Atkinson said, that balances paying at levels meant to retain talented employees with avoiding a revolt among the ranks.
“It’s all in the eye of the beholder,” Atkinson said. “The members will have to be the judge of this.”
The public entity provides liability, property and casualty insurance and workers’ compensation insurance for more than 230 city governments and special districts. Large cities such as Denver tend to self-insure.
The CIRSA raises continued after the Wall Street collapse but were far lower than for the four-year period. Since 2008, CIRSA’s longtime director, Tim Greer, has seen his compensation grow by a little more than 4 percent, or from $255,088 to $265,483. Compensation for CIRSA’s chief financial officer, Patrick Priest, advanced by nearly 11 percent, or from $155,660 in 2008 to $172,516 in 2010.
Sam Mamet, who directs the Colorado Municipal League, said the insurer has successfully carried out its responsibilities and has often been praised for its service. And while Mamet agreed that the raises could cause a negative reaction from city workers, he added that CIRSA exists in a competitive market in which retaining talented leadership is a must.
CIRSA’s executive salaries are far below the similarly situated Pinnacol Assurance, which has attracted controversy for paying its chief executive total compensation in 2009 of $563,459 and also for a pricey trip that top officers and board members took to Pebble Beach, Calif.
CIRSA’s board, composed of municipal officials, approved the raises after considering the findings of a salary survey conducted by Mountain States Employers Council once every two years.
CIRSA’s executive director declined an interview request, but the insurer’s attorney provided a statement from CIRSA board chairwoman Cindy Morse. She said the raises were warranted because CIRSA’s business had become increasingly complex, requiring top talent.
Meanwhile, because the board attracts so little public attention, its decisions are usually unknown beyond a small circle of insiders, notes Colorado Ethics Watch’s Luis Toro.
“It’s operating under the radar but being paid by governments and municipalities,” Toro said.
Dollar signs
A look at Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency’s total annual compensation for executive director Tim Greer and chief financial officer Patrick Priest:
Executive
director CFO
Year Tim Greer Patrick Priest
2006 $215,242 $132,270
2007 $225,557 $137,858
2008 $255,088 $155,660
2009 $248,971 $162,649
2010 $265,483 $172,516
