Parisella Says He Feels 'Fortunate' Despite Pay Cut

Massachusetts lawmakers will get a pay cut this year, in accordance with a state law that links legislators’ salaries to the state’s median household income.

Governor Deval Patrick’s office announced the drop in wages this week.

“As required by Article CXVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, for the purpose of adjusting the base compensation of members of the General Court, we have ascertained, from the federal census American Community Survey and reports of average weekly wages, that the median household income for the Commonwealth for the preceding two-year period decreased by 1.8 percent,” Patrick said in a Jan. 2 letter to State Treasurer Steven Grossman.

The pay cut amounts to about $1,000 annually from legislators’ current base pay of $61,132, the Associated Press reported.

In Beverly, State Representative Jerry Parisella said despite the pay cut, he feels fortunate to serve his hometown.

"Many families in Massachusetts are still struggling as we try to recover from this deep recession," Parisella told Patch. "I feel fortunate that I was re-elected for another term as Beverly's state representative. I never did this for the money but love to serve the residents of my hometown. We need to work hard this session to continue on job creation and economic development so that we can improve the opportunities for every citizen to have stable, steady employment."

The governor himself will be also impacted by the pay cut, as will the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state auditor and state senators and representatives.

Officials’ salaries also dropped in 2011, by 0.5 percent, according to the AP report.