Wyoming governor: State pay raises top priority in budget

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — State employee raises should be Wyoming’s top priority as lawmakers get to work on a budget for the next two years, Gov. Mark Gordon said.

Attracting and keeping employees has become difficult after years of state budget cuts, Gordon and Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox both told lawmakers Monday.

“From our troopers, snow plow drivers, social workers and others, Wyoming is struggling to staff the very agencies that provide the services the people of Wyoming need,” Gordon said in his annual state of the state address.

Ninety percent of Wyoming state employees are earning less now than their peers in other states were five years ago, the Republican governor said, and 30% need second jobs to make ends meet.

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