The city’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025 includes almost $89,000 in salary and benefit increases for the mayor and city council.
Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco wants to cut that down to about $9,200 by raising the elected officials’ salaries only 3%, the same rate of increase most city employees will see next year. That would create more than $79,000 of additional wiggle room in an ever-tightening budget plan.
DiCicco addressed the planned raises for elected officials during a special-call meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the budget.
As of now, the budget bumps each council member’s salary to $30,000, a 14% increase for the majority of the council. The raise would be more significant for DiCicco and Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene, who each make $18,200 after declining the last council raise in 2022.
“That is way out of line,” DiCicco said.
“If you want to take that out, I’ve got no problem with it,” Ward 2 Councilman and Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens responded.
Approved as is, the mayor’s salary would bump to $110,000 — a 32.5% increase from the $83,000 that position pays now.
DiCicco instead suggested a 3% increase, in line with what most employees are set to receive, an idea that garnered little opposition Monday.
The council, however, postponed voting on its raises, and the FY 2025 budget, until its upcoming work session set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Statutorily, the city must approve the budget by Sept. 15.
“If they finally decide on Thursday that that 3% is what they want to do, I’ll adjust the budget for that,” Chief Financial Officer Jim Brigham told The Dispatch on Tuesday. “Because that will save us money.”
When the council last approved pay raises for elected officials, it raised council member pay from $18,200 to $26,200. Four members accepted the increase while DiCicco did not. Greene initially declined the increase before saying six months later he would accept it. Brigham confirmed Tuesday that Greene never actually took the raise.
Likewise, Mayor Keith Gaskin declined the $10,000 raise the council approved for him in 2022. He said Tuesday that if his salary was bumped to $110,000 in next year’s budget, he would decline that raise as well.
At 3%, however, the mayor would see a $2,490 increase, while the four highest paid councilmen would see only $786. Greene’s and DiCicco’s pay would go up $409.50 over nine months. When the newly elected council takes office July 1, pay for those two positions would potentially levelize with the others at an annual salary of $26,986. If Greene or DiCicco win reelection, either could decline that pay adjustment in July, Brigham said.
All told, DiCicco’s plan would cost the city an additional $9,242.10 after benefits and retirement are factored in.
Gaskin said Tuesday he neither suggested nor supported the larger proposed raises. He said 3% raises are “more reasonable, absolutely.”
Other raises, new positions
After an executive session at the end of Monday’s meeting, the council approved a slew of raises for specific city positions.
The largest was a 23% increase for Fire Chief Duane Hughes, who is moving from $73,000 to $90,000 annually; and a 10% bump for Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell, moving her from $72,000 to $80,000.
Four positions in the city’s crime lab — including the crime lab director, a lab tech, and two chemists — also received 6% raises collectively worth roughly $8,000, Brigham said.
About 14 employees will get a $1 an hour bump, Brigham said, although that employee total hasn’t been finalized. Those workers were making just more than the recently approved $15 per hour minimum wage for 40-hour a week city employees, and Brigham said the raises will help relieve salary compression the new minimum wage would have created.
The council approved creating a fingerprint technician position in the crime lab. It is still debating other new positions included in the FY 2025 budget proposal, including a city planner and public information officer.
Even with the raises and new positions, Brigham believes the projected surplus will still exceed $300,000, though he did not provide a more precise estimate Tuesday.
Outside appropriations
Council members also voted to approve increases in a few outside appropriations.
Per votes Monday, the council voted to provide $25,000 to the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. It also approved a $10,528 increase from this year for the Boys and Girls Club (for a total of $25,000) and a $7,528 increase to the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library (for a total of $310,000).
All other appropriations to outside agencies will remain level with FY 2024.
Managing Editor Zack Plair contributed to this report.
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