Huntsville to raise mayor’s pay?
Huntsville City Council members are considering whether to raise the mayor’s salary and their own before next year’s city elections.
Huntsville has paid the mayor $83,000 a year since 1996. City Councilwoman Sandra Moon and Councilman Bill Kling said at the council meeting Tuesday night it may be time to consider a raise. Moon said it’s wrong for city department heads to earn far more than their boss. Many earn more than $100,000.
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Council members draw 25 percent of the mayor’s salary and the council president 30 percent. Officials have until February, or six months before the city election, to change the pay, according to the city attorney’s office. The increase would go into effect when the next mayor’s term begins in August.
Incumbents not facing re-election in August 2008 (Moon, Kling and Councilman Mark Russell), would get the pay bump midterm because they don’t face re-election until 2010.)
I’ll reserve my opinion until I hear more about the proposed increase and the justification. The council is approaching it in an appropriate manner by keeping the public informed, rather than trying to sneak through a pay hike like the crooks in Montgomery.
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IMO an elected mayor doesn’t need to make more than professional city employees. But the mayor’s office could use a salary increase. And Mayor Spencer has my undying love and respect (what? that’s not enough?)…
IMO the City Council is underpaid: they have a ‘full-time’ Part-time job.
I’d like to hear about the benefits and perks the Mayor and City Council recieve, as part of the discussion about salaries.
Of course, the law does not allow other elected officials to sneak a pay raise through for themselves to take effect before facing the voters in an election. Only the legislature can exercise that legal, but ethically-questionable practice.
Good point Mike. It seems like some of your colleagues are not averse to ethically-questionable practices in general.
Reactionary, I agree that the pay for council members seems quite low considering the work we ask of them.