Oregonians will get mad if state officials seem overpaid. So when auditors reported that the pay for the director and other managers of Travel Oregon was some of the highest in any state agency, it looks bad.

Add in that Travel Oregon’s staff size is smaller.

Add in that Travel Oregon’s budget is smaller.

Add in that managers salaries of Travel Oregon have gone up by 76% since 2012.

Add in that the state paid CEO Todd Davidson $381,624 — up from $167,000 a decade ago.

Add in that when auditors asked Travel Oregon for the analysis of comparable salaries that the agency commissioned in 2016, the managers couldn’t come up with the details.

That all adds up to a mess.

Consider this in contrast: “Department of Human Services Director Fariborz Pakseresht, who leads Oregon’s largest state agency with roughly 8,600 employees, was paid $200,388 as of June. Travel Oregon employs 60 people,” as The Oregonian pointed out.

We are not saying tourism is not important. It’s a big part of the state’s economy. And state employees deserve fair compensation. They deserve good health care and retirement benefits. And for the important work they do, they deserve our respect.

But Oregonians also deserve that their tax dollars are spent wisely. The compensation package for state tourism managers seems unjustified. Will it be cut? We doubt it.

Will the state’s tourism commission, which oversees Travel Oregon, do a better job of overseeing the agency’s finances? Will they do a better job of ensuring salaries for employees are better aligned with other state agencies? They better. It’s an embarrassing example that may unfairly tarnish other state employees and erodes credibility in government’s ability to spend public money.