Says it would offset inflation, encourage participation
Adeparting Beacon City Council member has proposed adding salary increases for the council to Mayor Lee Kyriacou’s 2024 budget.
Justice McCray, who represents Ward 2 but is not seeking re-election next month, asked Monday (Oct. 16) during the council’s workshop if the members’ $9,000 salaries could be adjusted for inflation. Doing so, McCray said, would help remove one of the barriers that may keep some candidates from running for the office.
“I will not be sitting in this seat next year, so this proposal will not impact me,” said McCray, who was elected in 2021 to a two-year term. “Looking at our budget over the last 10 years, that [salary] number hasn’t increased but the cost of living has. There are a lot of people in the city who are passionate about making Beacon better. I was in a position where I had the privilege of being able to manage my finances with what this offers, but I would love to see this number increase.”
If there is consensus about the increases, the council could vote to amend Kyriacou’s budget proposal, or Kyriacou could voluntarily add them. The council must approve the 2024 spending plan by Dec. 31 and is expected to vote Dec. 11, after several more workshops.
Dan Aymar-Blair, Wren Longno, Molly Rhodes and Paloma Wake, who are all running unopposed for re-election, said Monday that they support McCray’s proposal. Kyriacou and George Mansfield, who is not running again after 14 years on the council, did not commit.
While the part-time council members are paid $9,000 annually, the mayor, who is considered the city’s chief executive, receives $25,000. The last time their benefits were adjusted was in 2017, when the council voted to amend Beacon’s charter to give members the option of a $2,500 payment if they choose not to enroll in the city’s health insurance plan. (The city has offered health insurance to council members since at least 1988. If they accept, the council member pays 20 percent of the premium.)
On Monday, City Administrator Chris White said that council members’ salaries, if adjusted for inflation, would rise to $11,000, in addition to the health insurance option, and the mayor’s would increase to $30,000.
If there is agreement to go forward, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis said a public hearing would be required. A “permissive” referendum might also be necessary, he said, and would require the approval of a percentage of the city residents who voted in the most recent election. If necessary, the referendum would have to happen within 90 days of the council’s budget vote.
If no referendum is required and the budget is adopted before Dec. 31, the salary increases would be effective Jan. 1, when council members are sworn in. If a referendum is needed, the increase would be deferred until after the next election, in 2025. Ward-Willis said he would report back to the council on the next steps.
Aymar-Blair, the Ward 4 representative, asked if current council members could vote for the increase but — to avoid a conflict of interest — not take the money. “It feels a little iffy being up here and asking for more money,” he said.
That scenario is not a likely option, Ward-Willis explained, because — aside from the mayor — the council members must all receive the same base compensation.
McCray also suggested creating a fund to reimburse volunteer committee members for costs such as child care and travel. “I don’t mean traveling from New York City to here, but if you don’t have a car and you live on the east side of Beacon and it’s the cost of an Uber,” McCray said, noting that such a provision would “eliminate as many barriers to participation as possible.”
Ward-Willis said he would investigate the legality of compensating some committee members differently than others versus offering them all a flat stipend. However, “you have to be careful when you’re paying volunteers because that’s the point — they’re volunteering,” said Susan Tucker, the city’s finance director.
Any payment could potentially elevate the volunteers to employee status, creating another legally complex scenario, Ward-Willis added.
“That’s not a ‘no,’ and I’ll take it,” McCray said.
“It could be a ‘no’ later on,” Ward-Willis replied. “But you’re right, not today.”
Great idea! Can you imagine if council members could make their work a full-time job? There are so many ways the community could be served. [via Instagram]
Are you kidding me? A $1,000 raise to each City of Beacon employee so he or she will stay?
Who is the idiot who thought this was a good idea? Let me guess: Someone who is getting a $1,000 check! If a thousand bucks keeps them here, they weren’t leaving anyway. This city is run by idiots. You expect us to believe employees with 10 years on the job are going to leave? This is a cash grab, and plain and simple lunacy. [via Facebook]