City officials seemed surprised to learn that voting themselves large pay raises would prove controversial. The District of Columbia City Council learned this the hard way when they tried to give a financial hand to one of the most overpaid city governments in the nation.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average household income in the District was pegged at $44,949 annually over the 2004-2005 period. If you are one of the twelve city council members, however, you rake in more than double that amount, to the tune of $92,530 per year, according to The Washington Times, which labeled the council the second-highest paid in the nation after the Los Angeles city council. If you are lucky enough to be Council Chairperson and former mayoral candidate Linda Cropp, your salary tops $140,000.
Under a bill recently introduced to the lame-duck council, however, the council members’ pay would leap by more than half to match the chair’s current pay level, while the chair salary hits $190,000 and Adrian Fenty’s forthcoming salary would rise to $200,000. That’s a hefty pat on their own for a job not all would consider well done.
It should be no surprise that Councilmember Vincent Orange quickly proposed reducing the pay increase to $30,000, followed by Councilmember Phil Mendelson reducing it another $7,000.
Always looking for good press, these members realized the huge increase would not sit well with the public, especially with the extensive discussion of city funds that dominated debates during the mayoral race.
The mayor’s pay increase makes sense; compared to other officials, such as the $300,000+ salary of the new Metro chief, the mayoral allowance is a pittance. If you’re trying to build a world-class city, it makes sense to fund the mayor at least as well as the other great cities in the country.
If the council wants to give itself a raise, so be it; it hasn’t taken one since the late nineties.
The postponement of the pay raise vote, however, suggests the council has figured out that it should not be rewarding itself with gargantuan pay increases while the city is still struggling to find its financial footing.
