BOSTON -- A Shrewsbury state representative is refusing the 5.5 percent pay raise being given to legislators, saying she can't accept the extra cash when families are struggling to meet basic expenses.
Republican Karyn Polito said the pay raise is ill-timed, especially when workers are being laid off and the state is weighing deep budget cuts to cities and towns.
The increase would lift lawmakers' base annual pay from $58,237 to $61,440 -- an increase of just over $3,200 a year.
Under a state law approved by voters in 1998, lawmakers' pay rises or falls every two years in line with the state's median household income.
On Wednesday, Gov. Deval Patrick sent a letter to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill saying he'd determined the median household income increase to be 5.5 percent.
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