Newton City Council Votes To Give Themselves Raises

NEWTON, MA — The Newton City Council voted to give themselves, the mayor and the school committee raises. All but councilors Jake Auchincloss and Becky Walker Grossman supported the move.

The result of the vote is now heading to the mayor's desk. If the mayor agrees, it would be the first time in more than a decade elected public officials got a raise. If the mayor does not approve the city council's vote, they can still override her.

"This ends up being a CPI increase over 20 years," said Gregory Schwartz, the at-large councilor from Ward 6, who reminded residents that the vote wouldn't affect current councilor salaries."It's really a good government issue," he said.

"I understand that there are other entities in the city that are dependent on or are waiting for outlays of money," he said, but pointed out that the salary increase would be small compared to docket items the council approved each meeting.

This comes after City Council President Marc Laredo put together a"Blue Ribbon" Commission earlier this year. Much of the commission recommended the raises, but three members, including Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce President Greg Reibman took issue. The League of Women Voters of Newton also took umbrage with what they called a lack of transparency in the process.

Changes are set to go into effect by January 2020.

The City Council last looked at the compensation for its elected officials in 2005. At that time, a Blue Ribbon Commission recommended raising the salaries for all elected officials and providing a way to ensure future increases. The City Council ended up approving a salary increase for the mayor (who actually didn't take it for at least two years) but did not give themselves an increase.
Since then Newton's mayor has gotten a salary of $125,000 a year. If it passes, the mayor will earn $155,000.

Newton's 24 city councilors have earned the same annual salary since 1998 - a stipend of $9,750. City councilors voted to push that up to $15,500. School committee members each receive an annual stipend of $4,875. That would increase to $7,750.

And that's lower than the average in other neighboring communities.

"Who knows when it will come up again," Susan Albright argued.

While the majority of councilors argued taking the raise or not would have no impact on ongoing contract negotiations with the Educators Unions, it was a sticky point for Auchincloss.

"I just won't support this," said Auchincloss, acknowledging that although the increase was modest and arguments about the teachers contract not yet being negotiated didn't quite fit, the vote had a symbolic element to it.

"Voters and residents do key off of what city hall does as a monolithic entity," he said. "For us to give ourselves a raise and to give the school committee a raise and to give the mayor a raise at a time when the teachers are falling behind their peers in the commonwealth sends the wrong message."

Previously on Patch:

• Newton Commission Asks If City Councilors Should Be Paid More
• Opinion: Say NO to Newton Politician Pay Raises
• Commission Recommends Newton City Council Vote Themselves Raises
• League Of Women Voters Criticizes Newton Council's Potential Raises

Watch the city council meeting courtesy of NewTV

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).