New Puerto Rico Governor Touts Austerity

In the size and salaries of his executive office staff, new Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla is staking a claim to being more frugal than his predecessor.

After taking office Jan. 2, García Padilla hired a new staff of advisors and directors at the executive mansion La Fortaleza that is half the size of that under  predecessor Luis Fortuño, the new administration says.

Salary scales determine the range for job compensation. Salaries for incoming officials were generally set at the lower end of the scales in the new administration. Many salaries and benefits were cut by $12,000 to $30,000 a year compared to that found in the previous administration. By being frugal the García Padilla administration says it will reduce government expenditure by more than $2 million annually.

The highest paid official at La Fortaleza will be chief of staff Ingrid Vila Biaggi, who will earn $125,004, $12,588 less than her predecessor earned.

As governor García Padilla earns $75,000. However, he and his family get room and board at La Fortaleza, which, like the White House, serves as both home and work space for a leader. La Fortaleza was built from 1533 to 1540 and is the oldest executive mansion in the Americas.

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Puerto Rico
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