The Jamestown city council is considering a salary increase for both council members and the mayor. Any increase would not go into effect until the start of a new council and mayoral term.
JAMESTOWN – City lawmakers may make a decision on whether or not to increase their salaries when they hold a voting session later this month.
Currently, the salary for the mayor is $72,000 – which is where it’s been since 2008. The base salary for each council member is $5,000 and has not seen an increase since 1984.
In 2014 the city’s Salary Review Commission finalized its recommendation for salary adjustments – with a recommendation that the mayor’s salary be increased by $18,000 over a four year period. The commission also suggested the city council salary be increased by $1000.
During Monday night’s Jamestown City Council work session, city finance committee chairman Tony Dolce updated his fellow council members on how much feedback he’s received regarding the commission’s recommendation. He said so far, councilman Brent Sheldon was the only lawmaker to get back to him on the issue, with Sheldon proposing the council receive a $1,000 raise while the mayor would receive an $8,000 raise, in increments of $2,000 over a four-year period.
Following Dolce’s update, city council president Greg Rabb suggested the issue be discussed further during the council’s next Finance Committee meeting on Aug. 24. The committee would then finalize a recommendation for the full city council to consider for its Aug. 31 voting session.
Any salary increase that would be acted on by the council would not go into effect until the start of the new term for both the council and the mayor positions, which begin in January 2016.
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