Monday, February 9, 2009

Hefty Raises Proposed For Mayor And Aldermen

I haven't been following the newspapers or other blogs so I don't know if it has been already reported, but then again I don't care if you've already read about this because I feel like writing about it.

O-07-09, on first reader tonight proposes to increase the salary of the Mayor from $70,000 to $120,000, and the salary of the Aldermen from $12,600 to $18,500.

The 71.4% increase in the Mayor's salary and the 46.8% increase to the Aldermen would be large by any measure. However, the pay for Aldermen would still be woefully inadequate for the job they are asked to do. The Mayor's salary is up for debate. For a Mayor under the current power scheme, it's probably closer to appropriate than inappropriate. For a Mayor under a council-manager form of government, it's too much.

My guess is that the supporters of a strong mayor will try and pass this bill to assign more prestige to the office and try and keep things the way they are. My other guess is that the public will be furious to award the Mayor's office more money after the disappointments of the current office holder.

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