Here’s how much NC Senate leader Phil Berger is paying his staff

N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger has four staffers making more than $100,000 annually, while only two staffers for House Speaker Tim Moore are in the same salary range.

Berger, a Republican from Eden, released his staff’s salaries this week in response from a public records request from The News & Observer. The N&O previously published salary records for Moore’s staff and for the staff and Cabinet secretaries of Gov. Roy Cooper.

Berger employs more full-time employees and has a slightly higher total payroll than Moore, records show. Berger’s office includes 15 permanent staff members earning a total of $1.07 million, while Moore’s office includes 13 permanent staffers earning a total of $1.01 million – or $1.04 million if you include Moore’s three paid interns.

Berger’s staff list includes his wife, Patricia Berger, who earns $31,569 as a research assistant and paralegal. A number of state legislators also employ their spouses as legislative aides.

Here’s the full list of Berger staff salaries:

Jim Blaine, chief of staff, $175,000

Andrew Tripp, general counsel, $155,000

Amy Auth, deputy chief of staff for communications and operations, $114,188

Erica Shrader, deputy chief of staff for policy, $106,575

Darrell Malcolm, executive assistant, $77,648

Kolt Ulm, research assistant and paralegal, $66,990

William Tomlinson, administrative assistant, $60,302

Sara Ulm, research assistant and paralegal, $55,825

Shelly Carver, administrative assistant and spokeswoman, $54,500

Stephen Ogden, research assistant and paralegal, $46,690

Dylan Watts, research assistant and paralegal, $42,500

Wanda Shivers, legislative clerk, $40,000

David Whitaker, research assistant and paralegal, $39,461

Patricia Berger, research assistant and paralegal, $31,569

Peggy Halifax, research assistant, $7,916

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how much NC Senate leader Phil Berger is paying his staff."