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The eight cabinet salaries have been set in state law for years but the legislature gave the next governor the ability to change them. McCrory hiked his cabinet payroll an average 8 percent.

McCrory bumped four cabinet secretaries -- Health and Human Services, Public Safety, Transportation and Commerce -- to $135,000 from the previous $121,807. Four other agency heads -- Environment and Natural Resources, Revenue, Administration and Cultural Resources -- increased to $128,000 from $121,807.

Pat McCrory's transition costs total less than $200,000 so far, with the bulk covering salaries for his top aides. The figure is detailed in public records obtained by The News & Observer.

The Republican legislature gave him $660,000 for transition costs, double the amount of his Democratic predecessor. McCrory said he would try not to spend it all. Not all costs are accounted for yet, and the total doesn't include any expenses related to the inauguration.

Four key aides made the most money: Thomas Stith, Kelly Nicholson, Charles Duckett and Pattie Fleming, documents show. Stith made $10,894 a month in the transition, a total salary equal to about $131,000 a year. Nicholson took home $13,895 a month, or the equivalent of $166,740 a year. The total projected for transition salaries -- $192,000 --goes through Jan. 18, suggesting the final number may be less because some staffers are moving to state payrolls before then.

An N&O article Saturday noted the raises House Speaker Thom Tillis gave some of his staff in the last few months.

The article was a follow-up to a Tillis and Phil Berger interview with editorial writers and reporters in January, where they discussed their intent to have lower staff costs than their predecessors'.

Tillis said he would come in at 17 percent lower than Joe Hackney, and Berger said he would cut 10 percent from Marc Basnight's employee costs. What they said about staff salaries is in the bottom half of the January article.

Here's a comparison of House Speaker staff salaries. Senate details will be in a future post.

Tillis' staff as of June 7, 2011, total compensation.

Abigail Blackwell, Administrative Assistant, $30,000
Charles Duckett, Director of Admin. Boards and Commissions, $79,170
Bruce Goforth, Policy Adviser, $62,880
Christopher Hayes, Policy Adviser, $82,000
Amy Hobbs, Policy Adviser, $82,000
Susan Horne, Assistant for Constituent Services, $51,480
Jason Kay, General Counsel, $140,000
Wanda Kay, House Caucus Assistant, $40,000
Michael Luethy,  $70,000
Dodie Renfer, Director of Operations, $70,000
Jordan Shaw, Director of Communications, $65,000
Katherine Sullivan, Policy Assistant, $36,000
Charles Thomas, Chief of Staff, $150,000
Rhonda Todd, Executive Assistant, $71,071.12
Renee Weaver, House Staff Clerk, $35,525

Tillis total, $1,065,126.12

Joe Hackney staff compensation, July 1, 2010.

This accounts for people employed by former House Speaker Joe Hackney on July 1, 2010. A direct comparison with the Tillis payroll is difficult because Hackney had part-timers who worked for a few hours a day or a few days a week.

The Saturday story assumed all worked full time, and as a result, the Hackney total is higher than the actual.

Nonpartisan General Assembly staff said in January that Hackney's payroll came to about $807,000 last year when the office was fully staffed.

Zadia Brown, Assistant for Constituent Services, $53,841
Kathryn Bruckner, Administrative Assistant, $30,000
Lesley Cates, Assistant for Budget, $51,687.36
Laura DeVivo, Senior Policy Adviser, $134,387.16
Emily Freeman, Executive Assistant, $82,940
William Holmes, Communications Director, $84,255
Yancey Huie, Tax Counsel, $131,172.52
Robin Johnson, General Counsel, $136,917.40
Andrew Korostynski, Legislative Assistant, $30,116
Eugene LaVange, Director, Boards and Commissions, $83,600
Meredith Swindell, Executive Assistant, $52,568.52
Susan Buehlmann, Reception, $33,801.90
Lucille Thompson, Assistant, Boards and Commissions, $64,587.50

Hackney total, $969,874.36

Corrections: Goforth's first name. (First name is Daniel, goes by Bruce.) Updates Renfer and Sullivan titles.

Rep. Pat Hurley threw a curve to House budget writers Tuesday when she sought to cut the salaries of top state lottery officials, particularly that of Executive Director Tom Shaheen, who makes $246,000 a year.

"There are four people who make more money than our governor, and I think we should look at this," said Hurley, an Asheboro Republican, during a budget committee meeting.

Gov. Mike Easley makes $135,854 a year. Executive deputies Lou Ann Russell, Robin Diehl and Alice Garland are each paid between $142,120 and $144,120.

Hurley also found it unfair that state employees are looking at a raise that's far less than the 5 percent increase the Lottery Commission approved for staff.

House leaders sought to discourage her amendment. House Rules Chairman Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat, said if the amendment passed, Shaheen would be leaving for another state offering a much more lucrative salary.

That's when Rep. Cary Allred, a barb-tongued Alamance County Republican, joined in. He took Hurley's side.

"When I voted for the lottery, I didn't mean for the director to be the winner of the lottery," Allred said. "And if he wants to leave then don't let the screen door hit you in the behind on the way out."

In the end, committee members agreed to order a study of state salaries.