AUGUSTA – From Rep. Gary W. Moore’s point of view, there are few little-known Maine facts more embarrassing than the governor’s salary.

“Is $70,000 really a fair wage for the governor of the state of Maine?” was the question the Standish Republican posed to the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee. “If you think it is, you can turn me off right now. Maine’s governor is the lowest paid governor in the country – and the Virgin Islands and Guam. This is terrible.”

During a Friday public hearing on LD 1908, Moore argued the governor’s salary should be 10 percent higher than the next highest paid official in state government.

That distinction would be claimed by the chancellor of the University of Maine System who receives $200,850 annually. Using Moore’s math, which he conceded Friday was simply an attempt to draw people’s attention to his bill, the governor’s salary would skyrocket from $70,000 to more than $220,000.

Moore said Friday that something more in line with $120,000 to $170,000 would seem appropriate given the fact Maine’s governor has not received a raise since 1987 when the salary was doubled from $35,000 to $70,000. If enacted by the Legislature, Moore’s bill would not become effective until 2011.

“It has been decades since the political courage has been found to adjust the governor’s salary – that’s just wrong,” Moore said. “A governor can’t propose something about his own salary – that would be horrendous and the Constitution precludes it. So we’re not talking about anything here that’s going to affect Gov. Baldacci. This is not pertinent to his life.”

Baldacci disagreed. Although the governor was in seclusion Friday mourning the loss of his brother, Paul, who died Thursday, he did address the salary issue earlier in the week when he sent a letter to the committee outlining his opposition to the bill.

“The pay increase proposed by [LD 1908] would more than triple the current salary of $70,000 plus benefits,” the governor wrote. “There are many families in Maine making less than I do right now. Someone seeking the position of head of the state should do so in order to give back to the state and make life better for the people of Maine. It is a privilege to serve Maine people as governor and I respectfully urge you to reject LD 1908.”

The issue of benefits was seized upon by Sen. Mary Black Andrews, R-York, who asked Moore whether he considered fringe benefits that accompany the governorship including such amenities as a mansion, chef, food, a driver and car, an audited contingency account and other perks.

“So it’s not really [just] $70,000,” she said.

Moore agreed, but he added similar benefits are extended to other governors in the United States, including other lower-tier salary states like Arkansas, at $75,000 and Nebraska and Tennessee, both at $85,000.

“Overall the salary is still at the bottom and the benefit structure is pretty much the same throughout the country,” he said.

Rep. Robert H. Crosthwaite, R-Ellsworth, did not like Moore’s decision to index the governor’s salary structure to state employees because those positions are either hired or appointed.

“The governor of the state is elected by the people and I believe he has a direct responsibility to the people of Maine,” Crosthwaite said. “Even though the Legislature weighs in on the salary, this protects the separation of the branches. I would suggest indexing salary to the median state income and it could be twice or three times the median income. That would provide an automatic monitoring annually. Hopefully it would go up, but if it went down, the governor would feel the pinch, too.”

Joseph and Michelle Greenier of Stockton Springs joined Baldacci in opposing the bill and maintained there were already too many overpaid state officials “not performing their jobs.”

“Maybe it’s more likely we’re giving them too much money,” Joseph Greenier said.

The State and Local Government Committee plans to hold a work session on LD 1908 on Feb. 6.