A government commission was greeted by sounds of silence at a hearing Monday night to get citizen input on public officials' salaries.

Four people showed up at the hearing in a meeting room of the Show Me Center. Only two of them spoke publicly at the hearing conducted by the Missouri Citizens Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials.

Six of the 20 members of the commission attended, along with several members of the commission staff.

The commissioners talked among themselves during much of the hourlong hearing as they waited for those in the audience to speak.

Finally, as commission Chairman Robert Kortkamp of Chesterfield prepared to close the hearing, Bill Benefield of Cape Girardeau rose to speak.

Benefield, a retired custodian for the Cape Girardeau School District, said state officials should be paid fair salaries.

"I think some of the people deserve more money," he said, noting that the salary of state legislators is $29,000.

Benefield said state officials should be paid a fair wage for full-time work and not have other jobs on the side.

Katherine Golden drove 60 miles from her home near Greenville in Wayne County in hopes of learning more about the salary issue.

She was disappointed that the commissioners didn't speak about the salary issue. "I thought they would tell us something," she said prior to addressing the commission.

Golden told commissioners that she was reluctant to speak at the hearing. A retired teacher, Golden said she was more comfortable communicating with sixth-graders.

She suggested state senators should be paid more than state representatives because they have larger districts. "They have more people to take care of," she said.

Under the current salary structure, senators and representatives receive the same salary.

"They are dedicated people or else extremely rich and just do it for a hobby," said Golden.

Lawmakers' salaries are low considering the hours they spend on the job, she said.

The commission is charged with drafting a pay plan every two years that covers the salaries of Missouri's six elected state officials, legislators and judges.

Established by constitutional amendment in 1994, the commission drafted its first pay plan in 1996. Lawmakers rejected it last year, saying they couldn't justify giving themselves a large pay raise.

Monday's hearing was the commission's sixth and final one for this year. Since August the commission had held hearings in Kirksville, Springfield, Jefferson City, St. Louis and Kansas City.

The commission will meet in Jefferson City on Nov. 4 to iron out a pay plan that must be delivered to the secretary of state's office before Dec. 1. Final approval rests with the Legislature.

Kortkamp expressed disappointment that so few people have attended the hearings. About three people, on average, spoke at each of the previous five hearings, he said.

Two years ago more people spoke at the hearings. But that was largely because lawyers and judges showed up to push for pay raises for the judiciary. This time the judges and lawyers have kept a low profile.

Kortkamp said their position hasn't changed. But he said, "There is no point in having one interest group here hogging the meetings."

Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge John Grimm was among the four persons who attended the meeting. He spoke informally with the six commissioners and commission staff. Grimm didn't speak up publicly on the salary issue.

Circuit judges currently are paid $98,947 a year, an increase of $7,484 over two years ago.

Elected state officials, including judges, benefited from pay raises in recent years even though the commission's previous pay plan wasn't approved.

The increased pay resulted from cost-of-living adjustments that all state employees received.