HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: UMass brass cash in despite budget woes.

University of Massachusetts President Martin T. Meehan handed out hefty raises of up to $20,000 to his staff and other brass, including high-paid cronies of former President William M. Bulger, months after hitting up students for stiff tuition hikes, a Herald review has found.

The raises included a $19,000 increase for UMass Executive Vice President James Julian Jr., Bulger’s former top aide, who is now earning $371,384 a year — or about $221,000 more than what Gov. Charlie Baker makes, records obtained by the Herald show.

The salary hikes went into effect this fall, around the same time Meehan and other UMass administrators moved into plush new offices on Beacon Hill that the Herald reported costs $1.5 million a year more in rent than what UMass was paying at its old location.

The pay raises also came despite a budget stalemate between Meehan and the Legislature, which is refusing to approve $10.9 million in funding to cover a 3.5 percent pay hike for unionized UMass teachers and staff.

Payroll records obtained by the Herald show that in the president’s office alone, eight people, including Meehan, make more than the governor, who earns $150,000 annually. Ten employees in Meehan’s office make more than Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg and Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, whose annual pay is $102,000.

People are always cutting costs by replacing faculty with adjuncts, but nobody ever talks about cutting costs with adjunct administrators.