AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage makes less than any governor in America, but don’t feel too sorry for him.

He said Thursday he pays more in income tax than he earns from his $70,000-a-year salary as the state’s leader. But a spokesman, Peter Steele, said he was referring to his tax bills before he became governor, not since.

LePage also told a Portland radio station that he feels “like a priest or a nun” because “you go into poverty to serve the public.”

There is a bill in the Legislature to hike the governor’s pay to $150,000 annually, but it won’t help LePage even if it passes because it would only take effect for whomever wins the 2018 gubernatorial election. LePage cannot seek re-election because Maine’s term limit law restricts the governor to two consecutive terms.

LePage, who tried unsuccessfully to push a similar salary measure last year, said if lawmakers endorse it this time around “it will go into law without my signature. I’m not touching it” after the “big stink” made when he advocated it.

“As a matter of fact, I’m tempted to lean against it now,” LePage told WGAN radio during his weekly call-in session.

State Rep. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, said during testimony on this year’s bill that Maine’s governor earns 20 percent less than the next closest pay level, in Arkansas, and much less than the $137,415 average annual salary hauled in by America’s governors.

“I believe that it is time to reassess the salary of the governor here,” Farrin said, pointing out that it hasn’t been increased since 1987.

“With the current salary being considerably lower compared to other states, I feel that some well-qualified individuals that would consider running for governor are discouraged from the position because they are capable of making more money in other business ventures,” the legislator said.

“Don’t we want the best qualified individuals running for the highest office in our state?” Farrin asked. “Why wouldn’t we compensate the individual who we hold responsible for charting the future of our state fairly?”

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