Georgia transportation official gets another $100,000 raise

Brown also credited McMurry’s leadership for the state’s growing transportation budget, which has topped $4 billion, and he noted national accolades Georgia has received for its infrastructure during his tenure.

“For all these reasons and more, it remains critically important to the State Transportation Board that Commissioner McMurry continue to lead GDOT in coming years,” Brown said.

McMurry gained national acclaim after a fire shut down I-85 in Atlanta in 2017. Under his leadership, GDOT and a private contractor rebuilt the affected stretch of highway in six weeks.

That high profile has led to a series of huge raises. McMurry’s pay rose from $250,000 to $350,000 in 2017, then to $450,000 in 2021. The board intends to raise his pay another $100,000 in September — a move that also could boost his pension by tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Even at his new salary, McMurry isn’t even close to being the state’s top-paid state employee — a dozen earned more than $1 million last year. University of Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was the top-paid employee at nearly $8 million.

Georgia elected officials have often hailed McMurry as the nation’s best transportation commissioner. But he angered some lawmakers this year for lobbying against a proposal to raise the maximum weight of trucks on state highways.

Proponents of the move said it would help businesses deliver their goods more efficiently at a time of high inflation. McMurry and other critics said it would increase traffic fatalities and cost Georgia taxpayers billions of dollars more for road maintenance. Lawmakers ultimately approved a temporary compromise but plan to revisit the issue in the future.