Tenn. politicians talk small gov--but dish out raises

It's been a rough year for Bill Evans as he tries to put a fresh coat on this wall and his career.

"It was kind of crazy. In July, I got laid off from one company, Advance Communications, and I had a second job that I was pulling bread for a local company," Evans said.

Down one job, he didn't file for unemployment--Evans still had another to pay the bills.

"Less than two months later, I was laid off from that (other) one," he said.

Now, the single father is looking for whatever he can get to make ends meet. That includes a morning of painting outside the fellowship hall at his Knoxville church. 

"I do everything from donating plasma to whatever odd job I can find," Evans said.

To help, he's placed an advertisement on Craigslist, looking for odd jobs.  He's not the only listing; just another sign of what type of year it's been in the East Tennessee and national economy.

"Most people didn't get raises this year. They didn't get something they expected. An awful lot of people lost their jobs," Mike Cohen, the Executive Vice President at Ackerman Public Relations said.

In a quarterly survey, Ackerman asked 300 businesses in East Tennessee how they were doing. Half of the respondents said they've had to lay people off, and half said they've given employees time off without pay--furloughs.

"If you're looking for what it means to employees, 82% of the people who responded to our survey say they're freezing salaries this year," Cohen said.

But comparing the first half of 2009 to 2008, Jimmy Duncan, Zach Wamp, and Lincoln Davis are paying their employees more.

"I'm not the type of person that'll get envious of what other people do or make. I just see that people are getting disgruntled with that; that's not going to fare well for them in the future," Evans said.

According to the watchdog group Legistorm, Duncan's staff salaries grew about 3.5%.

Davis and Wamp are paying roughly 13% more for their staffs this year than last.

"The Congressman has not voted for the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill (which sets his office allowance) since 2002 or for a pay increase for himself. He has always given back thousands of dollars each year in unspent funds. Anyone that knows his record knows he takes every dime of taxpayer money seriously, whether it is paying staff or voting for a bill," Patrick Newton, John Duncan, Jr.'s Communications Director, wrote in an emailed statement.

Each member of Congress is given a budget to pay for their staff, offices, and other operational expenses. The money that isn't spent, is returned to the Treasury.

All three Congressmen spoke out against government spending in the past year.

Zach Wamp did, on WBIR's Inside Tennessee.

"We've got to do a much better job with the resources that we have to try and increase accountability," he said. "How much government do we need? How many positions have been added over the last 20 years?"

This year, Wamp and Davis are on pace to spend about 25% more than freshman Congressman Phil Roe. Over the past five years, consistent raises appear to be a trend.

5 Year Staff Salary Changes for Tenn. Congress Members:

Roe: (Was not in office 5 years ago)
Duncan: +12%
Wamp: +35%
Davis: +29%
Cooper: +27%
Gordon: +29%
Blackburn: +58% (2004, first year in office)*
Tanner: +20%
Cohen: (was not in office 5 years ago)

*Blackburn's first year in office she had not yet hired a full staff and as her tenure grew she eventually filled more roles within the office, an official for the congresswoman said.

"Congressman Wamp is provided a fixed amount of federal funds each year to run his three offices - in Oak Ridge, Chattanooga and Washington. Within his budget, he pays district office rent, equipment and operating expenses, staff salaries and the cost of responding to the thousands of letter he receives each month. He takes his responsibility of spending taxpayer dollars very seriously.

"Congressman Wamp works hard to provide the best services possible for the people of the Third District, while returning a substantial amount to the U.S. Treasury each year," Laura Condeluci, Zach Wamp's Communications Director, wrote in an emailed statement.

As for Bill Evans, his wall at church is just about complete.

But the job search continues. He says he's willing to do whatever he can find and will continue to rely on faith to make it through these tough times.

"I may have a hurdle that comes up financially that I come across, but right about that time, some opportunity will come up for me to work. I'm not looking for anything to be handed to me, I'm just looking for opportunity," Evans said.

To see Evans' resume, click here.