The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved $367,107 in pay raises for the organization’s chief officers during a closed-door executive session in March.

The raises were recommended by a wage study commissioned in February, which offered two options that resulted in the same total cost for salary increases.

CEO Mark Compton received the highest individual pay raise — more than $86,000, or a 33% increase, bringing his salary to around $348,000.

The salaries are funded with toll revenue — the same pot that makes up the commission’s operating budget and General Reserve fund, which supports public transit under a 2007 state mandate.

Six executives earn more than Gov. Josh Shapiro, each making more than $250,000.

A letter with signatures from the commissioners obtained by PennLive said that the pay raise was for “leadership retention” and helped align the executive team’s compensation to “market standards.”

The executives’ raises come as the turnpike closes in on 17 years of annual toll increases.

PennLive was referred to the commissioners’ statement when it requested interviews with the chief officers, who said the decision was made by the commission.

The letter said that even though this pay increase could “raise questions and concerns,” the commission is “committed to transparency throughout this process.” The study wasn’t made public until requested by PennLive last week.

Tim Potts, founder of Democracy Rising, a good governance advocacy group, called the raises “an absolute outrage.”

“Do they think they’re in the private sector?” Potts asked. “When you work in the public sector, you have to work for the public so make your case to the public.”

Benchmark agencies had three times higher operating budgets:

In the study, the executive team’s salaries were compared with salaries from 42 tolling, transportation and independent government agencies across 19 states and Washington, D.C.

Cory Ng, associate professor of accounting at Villanova University and a licensed CPA in Pennsylvania, said that it was “unclear” why those numbers were chosen.

The board voted on the unspecified raises without public discussion during a meeting in March. State Secretary of Transportation Michael Carroll chairs the commission. The board of commissioners also includes former SEPTA chairman, Pasquale T. Deon Sr., Dr. Keith Leaphart, a Philadelphia physician, philanthropist and entrepenaur, former state Sen. Sean Logan and Douglas Farnham, founder and CEO of Farnham & Pfile Engineering Inc.

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