Letter: Set The Derby Mayor’s Salary At $90,000

DERBY — In November, residents overwhelmingly passed a charter change to make the Mayor’s position full-time with advocates from the Board of Aldermen and Charter Revision Commission saying that doing so would result in attracting more candidates and candidates with the experience necessary to run a 44 million dollar business.” 

Along with that change they approved changes regarding the budget submission process including that the Mayor submit a budget by March 1st. Here we are at the end of February and yet the Aldermen have failed to act and establish the salary and benefits for the new full-time position.

Data from the Connecticut Council of Municipalities shows for comparable municipalities the average salary of full-time Chief Municipal Officials (Mayor’s, First Selectman and Town/City Managers) is greater than $106,000 (information which has been given to the Aldermen and the administration). Locally full-time chief elected officials salaries are 85,000 or higher (Seymour $85,000, Oxford – $89,304, Shelton – $135,659) with the exception of Ansonia ($69,000), a salary which has not be raised in a number of years.

Derby’s only other full-time elected official is the Town Clerk, who oversees a single city department. The Town Clerk’s salary is $82,810.

The Board of Alderman recently approved a salary for a Finance Director with a minimum salary of $95,000 who reports directly to the Mayor as does the Street Commissioner with a salary of $90,891, Fire Marshall ($77,808), and Chief of Staff ($76,500) just to name a few. 

It is a common business practice that a minimum of 15% separate a supervisor from their direct reports. 

This business practice is affirmed in our City Charter in Section 32 – 42 which establishes the salary for the Chief as 16% above the salary of the Lieutenants whose salary is set at 16% greater than that of the Detective Sergeant. Given this practice and using the above salaries this would establish an appropriate salary for a full-time mayor at between $87,975 (based on the Chief of Staff) and $109,250 (based on the Finance Director). 

These numbers are generally compatible with salaries found in comparable municipalities and that of other chief elected officials locally.

Having spoken with advocates of the charter change, members of the Charter Revision Commission and residents in the community there is an expectation that the salary for the full-time Mayor’s position would be around $90,000. Given the data involved and the reasons advocated for establishing the Mayor’s position as full-time a salary of $90,000 is reasonable. 

The voters were told the cost of a full-time Mayor and yet overwhelmingly approved it. It is time for the Aldermen to act, embrace the will of the voters and adopt a salary of $90,000.

Such action will not only attract more candidates and candidates with the experience to lead our city it will also allow for candidates to transition from private employment to serving as Mayor. As evidenced by 2 years of tax increases totaling 10%, we can no longer afford candidates that are retired municipal employees who may be popular or nice guys” but lack the management, budgeting and business experience to develop solutions to the significant challenges we face.

Walt Mayhew
DERBY
The writer is the Derby City Treasurer.

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org