Governor cuts staff

"We've used some volunteers, like Tim and Hope, even on a part-time basis. I tried to get the best I could find (and ask them to) give some time to public and state service," Huntsman said.

While seeing savings in some salaries, a few Huntsman staffers are making considerably more money than their old Walker counterparts, financial records show.

For example, Walker spokesperson Amanda Covington, who held the title of Deputy for Policy and Communications, made $70,928 a year.

Huntsman's spokeswoman is Tammy Kikuchi, whose title is Director of Communications. Kikuchi makes $100,922 a year, $30,000 a year more than did Covington, who is now the spokesperson for the state's higher education operation.

Chaffetz said Walker had three press people, while Huntsman has only two, and so Kikuchi's salary in total is not out of line.

"Some people, like Tammy, are as good as any two people, so we save a little" by not hiring two people, but paying one more, said Huntsman.

But Lynne Ward, Walker's deputy chief of staff, said Walker did not have three communications aides, simply a main communications director and a press assistant, just like Huntsman, although several other departmental public information officers helped out in the governor's office when Covington took maternity leave late in Walker's last year.

The highest paid person in Huntsman's office is Senior Advisor for Economic Policy Chris Roybal, who makes $125,382 a year. Walker's top salary went to Chief of Staff Gary Doxey and to Ward, who both made $112,486.

Roybal's position is new, with Huntsman laying off 33 people in state economic development just weeks after taking office in January and announcing a reorganization of the state's economic development operations.

Under the Walker administration, depending on how one looked at it, that top economic development post was filled either by the executive director of the Department of Community and Economic Development, Dave Harmer, or Harmer's economic development agency director, Jeffery Gochnour. Harmer made $94,120 a year and managed a whole department. Gochnour made $90,896. Both men were laid off by Huntsman.

Huntsman kept Walker's director of planning and budget, Richard Ellis, who didn't get a pay raise under Huntsman, his salary remaining at $95,597 a year.

And Huntsman is paying his chief of staff, Chaffetz, exactly the same as Walker paid Doxey, $112,486.

The equal pay also goes for the two governors' chief legal counsel — Walker's Brian Farr and Huntsman's Mike Lee, both at $90,542 a year.

Huntsman's deputy chief of staff, Neil Ashdown, at $106,538, makes $6,000 a year less than Walker's deputy Ward made.