Here’s a look at comparable cities and what elected officials earn. Mayors and city council members in each of the following cities work part-time:
City/ population /workers/ Mayor’s annual pay/ City council member annual pay
Chamblee/ 15,675/ 89* /$18,000/ $12,000
Conyers/ 15,408/ 145 /$3,300 /$2,400
Fayetteville/ 16,206/ 136/$11,400/$7,800
Riverdale /15,134/ 220/ $12,000 /$9,600
* DeKalb County provides fire service protection.
Source: Cities and Georgia Municipal Association
Riverdale City Council is considering giving its successors a nearly 50 percent raise at a time when city workers haven’t had one in five years.
The council, which includes a couple of first-term members, will vote on the proposed $4,600- a-year pay hike on Jan. 27. If approved, the pay increase would take effect after the next election in 2015.
“I personally believe the mayor and council deserve a raise. It’s been over 12 years since the mayor and council have had a raise,” said first-term councilman An’cel Davis, a barber. “If it comes before the council, I’ll support it.”
But not everyone on the council agrees.
“Do I need a raise? I could really use it,” said Evelyn Winn-Dixon who is in her second term as mayor and currently earns about $12,000 a year. “But I can’t justify taking a raise because I haven’t given my employees a raise in five years.”
City leaders haven’t done enough to bring money and business into the city, councilman Kenny Ruffin added. Riverdale has lost several significant contributors to its tax base with the loss of several key businesses such as Lowe’s and Pep Boys, Ruffin noted. He said the city should be focused on improving its economic development efforts.
“We need to grow and diversify the tax base before we start giving ourselves raises,” said Ruffin, a computer engineer for The Home Depot who is in his third term on the council. “I don’t think it’s time to being handing out raises. I don’t think we’ve performed to the level that deserves a raise.”
The Clayton County city’s current budget of about $11.5 million, essentially unchanged from the previous year.
“There was no money for recreation this year,” he said, noting that the city lost $38,000 on its summer concert series last summer, partly due to inclement weather. “We should be doing more things for the common good of the city.”
Council members Cynthia Stamps-Jones and Wanda Wallace could not be reached for comment. Wallace is a third-term council member while Stamps-Jones is in her first term on the council.
“Those who don’t want a raise should sign a waiver saying they won’t receive one. That’s their right,” Davis said.
Riverdale has a little over 15,000 residents and provide police and fire protection, recreation and other services. It has about 220 employees, many of whom work in the fire and police departments. With the exception of a recent bonus, city workers have not had a raise in about five years. Workers got anywhere from $100 to $1,000 bonuses based on years of service.
Rodney Lawrence, who has lived in Riverdale for about 15 years, is against the pay hike.
“I don’t think they deserve a raise,” Lawrence said. “They’re not doing anything for the city. They’re not doing anything for the youth. If anybody should get a raise, it should be the police and fire fighters. They do a lot in the community.”
The mayor and council jobs are part-time. They meet the second and fourth Mondays of each month and meet for retreats and special-called meetings occasionally. The mayor gets about $12,000 a year while council members get $9,600 each.
In nearby Fayetteville, the mayor gets $11,400 a year and council members get $7,800 a year for their part-time gig.
The city of Atlanta’s new slate of elected officials took office Monday, beginning the new term with a hefty pay raise bestowed upon them by their predecessors. The council voted in 2012 to raise its pay by more than 50 percent. The average annual salary of an Atlanta City Council member is now about $60,000.
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