Peter Kinder, Lt. Governor of Missouri, Wants Daily Allowance Along With His $86,000 Salary

Peter Kinder, the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, apparently isn’t satisfied with his $86,000 per year salary and is asking for a daily expense allowance on top of it.

Kinder, a Republican, lives in a home with an estimated value of $186,000 in Cape Girardeau and maintains a second home in Jefferson City. He is requesting that Legislators add his daily expenses into the budget for when he is staying in Jefferson City because he has had to use his personal funds to pay for his housing and food while there. He wants the allowance whenever he is staying at his second home, not just when the Legislators meet because he presides over various executive branch boards and commissions.

Although Kinder, who is number two to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, receives nearly $90,000 each year, he explained that he has experienced “gradual impoverishment” during the ten years he has been in office.

While his salary is less than other Missouri executive officials, it is well about the $36,000 that Legislators receive. He is asking for per diem to be added to the budget for 2016 which would take effect in July. Since one of the Lieutenant Governor’s responsibilities is to reside over the senate, Kinder wants to receive the same allowance that Legislators receive which is $103 a day, according to KMBC.

“I am situated exactly as members of the Legislature are, in living in a district community and maintaining some kind of residence when I’m here.”

Chris Koser, Missouri Attorney General, was paid $116,000 last year, Secretary of State Jason Kander made $106,000, and Governor Jay Nixon earned $134,000.

According to Citydata, the estimated median household income in 2012 in Missouri was $44,263.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, said he thought it was strange that Kinder was not already receiving the allowance and that the Senate would be looking into giving him one.

Prior to being elected Missouri’s 46th lieutenant governor in 2004, Kinder served 12 years in the Missouri Senate, and represented the counties of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott, according to Peterkinder.com.

If the House and Senate agree to Kinder’s request, it will increase his pay by thousands each year. However, an exact number is not known, it will just depend on how many days Kinder spends in Jefferson City.

Aside from the Governor, none of the other executive officials are provided housing, and none of them have requested per diem.

What do you think? Should Peter Kinder receive a daily allowance on top of his salary? Leave your comments below.

[Photo via Facebook/Peter Kinder]