MacIver News Service By M.D. Kittle
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers’ cabinet members are earning significantly more than their predecessors, according to executive branch salary information obtained by MacIver News Service in an open records request.
Many of the Democratic governor’s key appointees received double-digit salary increases, according to the state Department of Administration spreadsheet of cabinet salaries.
Speaking of the DOA, Evers’ pick for secretary,Joel Brennanis taking home $152,755 a year, about 20 percent more than former Gov. Scott Walker’s DOA Secretary,Scott Neitzel,according to 2017 salary information. Neitzel left that post in 2018, and was succeeded byEllen Nowak, who made $132,000, according to reports. That’s 15 percent more than Brennan, who will earn just $1 less than his boss. Evers is set to make $152,756 annually, according theLegislative Reference Bureau.
Brennan ran Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s failed bid for governor in 2002 and his successful mayoral campaign two years later. He most recently served as head of the nonprofit Discovery World, a science and technology museum in Milwaukee.
Evers’ Department of Health Services Secretary-designeeAndrea Palmis pulling in $150,009, about $22,000, or 17 percent, more a year than Walker’s last DHS Secretary, Linda Seemeyer.
The complete story here > Evers' Cabinet Secretaries Get Double-Digit Raises