City Council, mayor salaries will increase; thousands of Atlantans immediately consider running for public office
Councilmembers elected next November would be paid $60,300, up from approximately $39,000
Atlanta City Councilmembers who are elected - or re-elected - next November will receive a 52 percent higher salary, thanks to legislation that became law yesterday.
Under the proposal, which the legislative body voted to approve 10-4 earlier this month, councilmembers’ salaries would increase from approximately $39,000 to $60,300.
Mayor Kasim Reed neither approved nor vetoed the proposal, but the law went into effect without his signature.
The proposal also hikes the mayor’s salary, from $147,500 to $184,000. However, Reed has said he’d decline the bump in pay if he’s elected to a second and final term in office next November.
Earlier this month, councilmembers voted 10-4 to approve the increase in pay based on the recommendations of a commission which studied fair compensation for Atlanta’s elected officials.
City employees have protested the pay hike, citing the fact they’ve gone years without a salary increase. The mayor met yesterday with union officials who represent City Hall employees and promised to work with them about bumps in pay once budget writers get a better idea of the city’s financial situation. Those talks could begin as early as January, once Fulton County delivers the latest tax digest estimates to the city.
“We are confident that we can reach a resolution when we meet again in January,” Reed said in a statement released today. “My goal is to agree on a pay increase for City of Atlanta employees - one that is fair to them, and responsible, affordable and sustainable for the city.”
What’s interesting about this whole brouhaha, aside from the debate over how much we pay elected officials, whose lives are often times taken over by their duties: Voters next November will visit the polls for the municipal elections. And we’ve heard very little about possible challengers to councilmembers.
You could argue that councilmembers who voted for the pay increase just gave a lot of people a reason to run for office. Not only do potential challengers have a talking point with which they can hammer councilmembers during the campaign, they’d also get a decent paycheck if they win.