High Pay for Fla. Domestic-Violence Chief May End State Ties

The salary paid to the leader of a Florida nonprofit network could jeopardize its standing as the sole distributor of state funds to aid victims of domestic violence, says The Miami Herald.

In signing the new state budget Gov. Rick Scott asked legislators to change a law mandating that $31-million in spending on shelters, advocacy, and other programs for victims of violence is channeled entirely through the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

According to the Herald, the trigger for the move was a state senator’s discovery that the coalition’s president, Tiffany Carr, was paid more than $350,000 in wages and benefits in 2009. The lawmaker shared his findings with Steve MacNamara, Mr. Scott’s chief of staff, who said the governor “wants to make sure the money’s actually getting to the people who need it, and not being spent on overhead.”

The group has been legally designated to disburse the state funds since 2003—a status that was reaffirmed by Gov. Scott last year—and was praised by other legislators for its work. Ms. Carr, who has headed the network for 19 years, said her compensation is set by its board based on CEO pay at comparable nonprofits and is partly covered by private contributions and grants.

“This is my life’s work. Everybody knows it,” she said. “And if there is a decision by my board or the legislature … they can decrease it. This is not why I do this work.”