The City Council will consider whether to increase the salary of the mayor and other city officials at its upcoming meeting, with the outcome of the decision still undecided.
While the Council is not decided on an amount of any increase, it is required by the City Charter to make a decision on it, one way or the other, every two years. The Charter requires the Council to, “Act upon,” the salary level of the mayor, tax collector, city and town clerk, registrars of voters and other officials, including the Council, itself.
No Final Decision
The Council has yet to decide on any specific amount of salary increase, if any at all, for the city’s top officials. The resolution concerning the salary levels received only a neutral recommendation for the Council’s Committee on Administration, Finance and Law in its meeting on December 5th.
The version of the proposed resolution returned from that Committee to the Council not only received neither support nor opposition, but was also vague. Its current wording would provide for, “A 5% minimum compensation increase for the Mayor, Tax Collector, Town and City Clerk, Registrars of Voters and Corporation Counsel.”
The resolution also provides that, “Some positions’ compensation has not been changed for many years. It may be advisable to provide regular 2 or 3 year 1% raises to compensate for longevity.”
Discussion in the Council’s committee did not end with a definite decision on even the five percent increase amount, passing the draft text to the full Council for further consideration.
The Council committee discussed a wide range of possible salary increases. It also discussed the possibility of creating a system of regular salary increases for the city’s top officials, based on increases in the union employees’ wages or the rate of inflation.
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 $43,611 in 2017.
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.
Salary Changes to Be Considered at Council Meeting
While the current City Council is required, under the City Charter, to make a decision on whether any changes should be made to the various officials’ salaries, it is not required to approved any increases.
However, if the Council decides to approve any changes, it would likely propose an amendment to the resolution currently under consideration with more specific and detailed provisions for any salary increases.
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 resolution on the salaries of the city’s top officials is on the agenda of the Council meeting on December 12, 2018. That meeting will be at 7:00pm in the City Council Chambers in City Hall.
Editor’s note (12/11/2018): The article was updated with New Britain’s 2017 median household income.
