A City Council committee is following a process required in city ordinances to consider possible increases in the salaries of the mayor and other city officials.
The Council’s Compensation Committee is charged, under city ordinances, with the responsibility to, “undertake a study in order to make a recommendation with respect to a salary adjustment for elected and appointed officials whose salaries are to be established by ordinance, including, but not limited to, the mayor, the town clerk, the tax collector, the treasurer, the registrars of voters, the corporation counsel, the clerk of committees and the deputy treasurer.”
The committee has been conducting hearings on the salaries of the officials, and considering its possible recommendations to the full Council.
Current Salaries of Top Elected Officials
The salary of Republican Mayor Erin Stewart is presently $87,634, which is more than twice the average household income in New Britain. The average New Britain household’s income was $41,844 in 2016.
The elected position of Tax Collector, held by Republican Cheryl Blogoslawski, has a combined salary and longevity pay of $71,017.
The elected Town and City Clerk, Republican Mark Bernacki, has a salary of $68,043.
The two Registrars of Voters, Democrat Lucian Pawlak and Republican Peter Gostin each have a salary of $54,417.
The 2017 Plan to Increase Mayor’s Salary by 23%
In 2017, the New Britain Progressive broke the news that the City Council, then with a 12 to 3 Republican majority, was considering a proposal that would have increased the mayor’s salary by 23%, up to $108,016.
That proposal would have also increased the salary of the city Tax Collector position by 11%, from $70,502 to $78,557 and the Town and City Clerk’s salary by 15%, from $68,043 to $78,557.
After Stewart had openly advocated for that proposal, she later withdrew it in the face of significant public opposition.
Current Consideration of Salary Changes
The current City Council’s Compensation committee is charged with making a recommendation on whether any changes should be made to the various officials’ salaries and, if so, by how much.
Once the committee concludes its work, it submits its recommendations to the full Council. The Council then refers the recommendations to its Administration, Finance and Law Committee for further consideration.
Ultimately, any change in the officials’ salaries requires approval by a majority vote in the full Council.
If salary changes are approved, they would take effect after the next city elections for officials with two-year terms of office. For officials with four year terms of office, changes would take effect, either at the start of the next term of office or halfway through the officials’ terms of office.
The Compensation Committee expects to meet to consider recommendations on November 8, 2018. That meeting will be at 7:30pm in the City Council Chambers in City Hall.
