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D.A. demands a raise - so she can donate it to the Free Library

District Attorney Lynne Abraham last week requested a state-mandated salary increase - but she plans to donate her $4,409 raise to the Free Library of Philadelphia.

District Attorney Lynne Abraham last week requested a state-mandated salary increase - but she plans to donate her $4,409 raise to the Free Library of Philadelphia.

State law dictates that a district attorney's salary must be $1,000 less than a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in that district.

Judges got a 2.8 percent cost-of-living increase on Jan. 1, so Abraham's office submitted paperwork for an equivalent raise last week to the city Finance Department. She requested an increase from $156,441 to $160,850.

In a statement, Abraham said that the state Supreme Court ruled last year that a D.A. cannot refuse to take a state-mandated pay increase. Spokeswoman Cathie Abookire said that Abraham always planned to donate the money to libraries.

"The district attorney is a lover of books and a lover of libraries, and that is what she decided to do," Abookire said.

Mayor Nutter took a 10 percent pay cut as part of the budget reductions he made in the fall, and other elected officials have followed suit.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz will donate 5 percent of his salary to the city instead of taking a cut. Under a state Supreme Court ruling, salaries for elected officials cannot be reduced mid-term.

Eight members of City Council - Anna Verna, Marian Tasco, Frank DiCicco, Jim Kenney, Bill Green, Curtis Jones Jr., W. Wilson Goode Jr. and Joan Krajewski - have agreed to take 5 percent pay cuts using the same method as Butkovitz.

Register of Wills Ron Donatucci and Sheriff John Green also have agreed to salary reductions. *