CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Now is not the time for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s chief to receive a raise that triples his annual salary to more than $3 million, according to a Bradley County commissioner.
TVA Chief Executive Officer Tom Kilgore was paid $3.6 million for the federal fiscal year ending in September. Bradley Commissioner Jeff Yarber has a resolution for next Monday’s commission voting session, asking TVA to reconsider the increase.
But TVA says the increase is the result of performance and a good year.
Yarber said Kilgore’s raise sends a bad message with people out of work or struggling to make ends meet in the current economy.
“State employees aren’t getting raises. County employees aren’t getting raises. Power bills are rising,” Yarber said at a recent commission meeting. “The voice [of opposition] has to start somewhere. Nobody will probably hear us.”