The council approved of an ordinance to increase its annual salary from $11,000 to $25,000. The vote was 3-2, with council members John Reichard and Keith Curry dissenting.
The pay increase will kick in on Oct. 1 if the council approves of the ordinance on second reading, which is scheduled to occur at its next meeting on Sept. 25.
Curry and Reichard both said they wanted the issue of the pay raise put before the voters in the form of a referendum, but the other council members would not go along with that idea.
The council members who support the pay increase — Mayor Gayle Oberst, Councilwoman Josie Strange and Councilman Rick Russell — have said it’s been 10 years since the council’s pay was increased and the pay hike would make the salary more in line with other cities.
In
In Lynn Haven, the mayor makes $8,676 a year and commissioners make $7,476.
Curry questioned how the pay raise would benefit the residents of
Strange replied that it would allow working people who aren’t retired and have families to serve “instead of having retirees up here that aren’t going to have any fresh new ideas.”
Reichard, who is retired, took exception to the comment.
“I beg your pardon,” he said to Strange.
“I wasn’t addressing you,” Strange said.
“You said retirees up here,” Reichard replied.
Strange said she was referring to retirees who might be on the council in the future.
Curry said he doesn’t see the need to raise the pay at all, but if it is raised, it should be phased in, as the city is doing with sewer and water rate increases.
Curry said the city this year has turned down the Boys & Girls Club and library for requested funds.
“But we’ll support a $73,000 raise for citizens who sit up here and all they do is make policy,” he said.
Curry said he feels the council is being self-serving and selfish by approving the salary increase.
“I recommend we put it on a referendum let the voters decide,” he said. “Let the voters we work for decide on this pay raise, and I’ll support it 100 percent.”
Reichard said if you go back to when the council’s pay was raised 10 years ago, and add up the city’s cost of living increases paid to city employees, the council members’ salary would be more in the $14,000 range if given a similar hike.
But Oberst said the salaries of city employees have increased much more in the last 10 years when the raises employees received in addition to the cost of living increases are added up.
Reichard said he supports the mayor getting a substantial raise because of all the time she puts into the job, but not the council members. He said the mayor spends twice the time working on behalf of the city of some council members and four times the time of some others.
Other budget items
Also Thursday, the council gave final approval of the coming fiscal year’s budget, which is increasing from $17.8 to $25.1 million, but there won’t be a property tax increase because the city has no property taxes.
Its budget is funded in part by a business receipts tax, which is a 1-percent fee on goods purchased in the city limits.
A 13 percent increase in revenues on this tax on purchased goods is proposed to help fund a wide range of expenditures in the coming fiscal year’s budget.
The city’s budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 calls for, among other things, a 2-percent cost-of-living increase in pay for city employees, three new police officers, one new fire department officer, a “Pier Park Loop Road” project and a new police station and public works building. The
The road project would come up for formal approval at a later date.
The council, in a 4-1 vote with Strange dissenting, also gave final approval to a water and sewer rate increase. Under the proposal, the water bill for an average user of 6,000 gallons a month is slated to increase from $26.13 to $26.39. The sewer bill is slated to increase from $51.71 to $52.47. If the increase is approved, the combined rates would still be the lowest of all of the municipalities in the area as well as the county.