State endowment investment board seeks pay increases for two senior staff; governor does not recommend

The Endowment Fund Investment Board asked the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to approve roughly $100,000 in additional compensation to raise pay for two senior investment staff, saying market pressure and expanded responsibilities justify the request. Janet Jessup, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, introduced the board's budget details to the committee.

Why it matters: The Endowment Fund Investment Board manages billions in public endowments and other investments that support state agencies. Committee members pressed the board for details on recruitment and retention risks before considering additional taxpayer-funded salary increases.

The request and board rationale

Janet Jessup told the committee the Endowment Fund Investment Board manages investments for land-grant endowments and other funds and that personnel costs account for the majority of the board's appropriation. Chris Antone (identified in the hearing as the board's manager of investments) said the board's compensation committee and the full board recommended the increases; he told the committee the recommendations had been discussed with the governor's office and the Division of Human Resources but had not reached final agreement. "The recommendations were made by our compensation committee and our board," Antone said.

Board Chair Thomas Wilford told the committee the pay request reflected a multi-year effort to bring staff pay closer to market. "There's a long history on this enhancement... The board's feeling is that if we had to replace [the staff member] someday, that we would have to pay more than we're paying him," Wilford said, describing the request as partially backpay and partially market adjustment.

How the request breaks down and the governor's position

Committee discussion and testimony identified the overall request as about $100,000 for two employees. In committee testimony, Antone described the detailed ask as approximately $54,800 for one deputy-level investment staff member and $28,400 for Antone himself. Jessup's budget presentation also listed a $100,000 compensation increase for two staff members among the agency's FY2026 requests.

The governor's budget recommendation did not include the requested compensation increases. A representative from the governor's office (Miss Wolfe) told the committee the Division of Human Resources analysis showed one deputy-level staffer was near the state policy rate for the pay grade and that, while the state acknowledged private-market comparisons, the governor recommended pay consistent with state government comparators rather than private-market rates. "Mr. Halverson was close to policy rate for his pay grade," Miss Wolfe said, adding the governor's office recognizes state pay is frequently not competitive with private-market salaries.

Committee questions and context

Committee members asked whether the board had fully endorsed the recommendation and whether the board saw turnover risk. Antone confirmed the recommendation came from the compensation committee and the board; Wilford and Antone described long tenures and expanded job scope for the affected positions. Antone said the endowment program's investment staff now oversee a much larger and more complex portfolio than when the deputy-level employee was hired: "We've gone from managing about $500,000,000 all in fixed income to managing a much more complex portfolio... we're managing about $5,000,000,000 now."

No formal action recorded

Committee members heard the presentation and questioned board representatives; the transcript records no formal committee vote or motion on the compensation request during the hearing.

What comes next

The governor's omission of the requested compensation increases leaves the committee to weigh the board's market arguments against the governor's statewide pay policy. Committee members asked the board chair to be prepared to explain the request further if the committee considers an appropriation to increase the two salaries.

Ending note

Board and agency representatives emphasized the board's long-term investment performance and the expanded complexity of the work as background for the pay request. Chris Antone closed his remarks by noting the board's investment returns since 2010: "Since 2010, we've generated 2,500,000,000.0 in investment income," he said, adding that the board and the Department of Lands have together contributed substantial earnings to beneficiaries.