What’s behind the recommended raises for the Atlanta City Council and other elected officials?

ATLANTA — On Nov. 4, the Atlanta City Council’s Elected Officials Compensation Commission made recommendations for some substantial raises for the mayor, city council, and the city’s school board.

The commission, which is made up of appointees from the mayor, city council, and school board proposed increases that range from just over 30% higher for the mayor to nearly 160% for the Board of Education’s chairperson.

According to documents from the city council meeting on Nov. 4, here are the current salaries and what the proposed raises would be.

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• Mayor: Increase from $202,730 to $271,000 (33.67% increase)
• Council President: Increase from $$74,400 to $132,500 (78% increase)
• Members of Council: Increase from $72,360 to $127,500 (76% increase)
• Board of Education Chair: Increase from $31,000 to $80,000 (158% increase)
• Board of Education Vice-Chair: Increase from $30,500 to $77,500 (154% increase)
• Board of Education Members: Increase from $30,000 to $70,000 (133% increase)

“You know it was very startling. It was higher than a lot of us come to expect,” Councilman Howard Shook told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna.

Councilman Shook is not running for re-election and would never see an extra dime, if the recommendation is approved.

He said when he first was elected, his city council salary was around $22,000.

However, under the recommendation, it would make being a council member a full-time job.

“This fiction that this is a part-time job, we are going to set that aside,” Shook said.

Currently, most city council members do not have full-time jobs outside of their work on the council.

Shook said the commission behind the recommendation said the salary increase would make sure city council members could afford to live in the city without additional compensation from other sources (like a part-time job).

“They looked at the cost of living and home ownership in this city,” Shook said.

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“How much we value our elected officials should also reflect the compensation and dedication we want to have,” Quinton Washington, chairman of the Elected Officials Compensation Commission said.

Washington said the commission looked at comparable cities like Washington D.C. and Boston, among others, during the proposal process.

Washington believes that the higher pay could make the jobs more attractive.

“It is the recognition that we need to pay for good election officials, but we also want the office of the elected official to be open to the best and the brightest without them feeling they are making a major pay cut,” Washington said “The way you solve the problems that the city has is by having a more responsive government. And the way you have a more responsive government is by knowing your elected officials are working full-time.”

Channel 2 Action News reached out to every city council member to see where they stand on their proposal. No one indicated if they would vote for the recommendation or not.

In a statement, a mayor’s spokesperson said “The Mayor is busy with the work of the people. He is aware of the matter and will review and respond to the recommendations of the commission at the appropriate time.”

No formal action has been taken on the proposal and a vote will be at least a month away.

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