If public hearing participation is any gauge, as many Shelton residents care about whether raising chickens should be allowed in residential zones as whether the mayor should receive steep raises in the next three years.
The five people who spoke about the mayoral pay raise proposal during a public hearing Thursday — the same number who weighed in last month on possible revisions to the city’s zoning code on raising chickens — said Shelton is a great place to live, and Mayor Mark Lauretti has done a good job at its helm for more than two decades.
But most of them also complained the city hadn’t done enough to promote Thursday’s hearing, explain the mayor’s benefits, and communicate why the position merits a raise at all.
Background
The mayor, who did not attend Thursday’s hearing because he is on vacation in Florida, is currently paid $110,193.
In Shelton, an ordinance spells out the mayor’s pay and benefits, and calls for a yearly cost of living increase, as well as a “salary survey” every eight years to be performed by an independent consultant.
Last September the Aldermen agreed to pay $4,200 to David Dunn, the City of Bridgeport’s personnel director, to perform the survey, comparing Lauretti’s salary to the top elected officials of similar towns and other Shelton employees, as well as other “financial indicators” published by the state.
Dunn delivered his recommendations two months later — and reiterated them at Thursday’s hearing after residents complained they didn’t have enough information.
Dunn said he found the mayor’s salary lagged behind chief elected officials cities like Enfield, and Southington, which are about the same size.
Dunn also said that Lauretti ranks 11th on a list of Shelton’s highest paid employees, after a number of school administrators and police officers.
The consultant said the mayor’s pay should increase to $119,176, or 8.15 percent, after the November elections.
State law prohibits elected officials from getting increases in pay for the terms they are currently serving.
From there, the mayor’s pay should increase 8.49 percent to $129,293 a year later, and another 4.92 percent, to $135,659 a year after that, in addition to annual cost of living increases.
Article continues after minutes of the subcommittee meeting at which Dunn presented his findings.
Alderman Finance Committee 11 – 24-14 Minutes Special
Give The Mayor A Raise
Michael Southam, a Birmingham, England native who lived in Australia before moving to Shelton 10 years ago, said Shelton’s the place to be.
“I’ve never been so happy and impressed with any city more than the City of Shelton,” he said.
He lauded the city’s libraries for “stretching every penny” they get, and said other city departments do as well.
The mayor should be rewarded for supervising such efficiency, he said.
“To me, it’s a no-brainer. He should be paid more than he is now,” Southam said.
Ruth Parkins, the chair of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, agreed, saying Dunn’s findings showed the pay bump is needed.
“Shelton is a very, very progressive, successful town and I think if we want to keep the quality of leadership in this town, and any successors that want to run for office, I think the salary needs to be increased,” she said.
This Isn’t Transparent
But George Sender, a Perry Hill Road resident, said the Aldermen didn’t provide enough information about the mayor’s total compensation, including things like his medical benefits and city car.
“Unless someone comes down and actually goes into the town clerk’s office and reads all those items, one doesn’t really know what’s going to be discussed this evening or what you’re proposing,” Sender said. “There’s got to be transparency, and you’re not doing it right now.
John Strevens agreed after following Sender to the podium.
He looked around at the dozen or so people dotting the audience.
“There’s obviously something missing,” Strevens said. “Is this all the people in town that really care? I don’t think so.”
Click the play button on the video above to see a portion of his remarks.
“When I pay my taxes, I don’t have to go anywhere, it comes right in the mail, I know it,” Strevens said. “But when I want to get information? Wow. I’ve got to work for half a day to try and get information sometimes.”
Like most Valley towns, Shelton publishes its meeting agendas online — but residents have to appear in person to read agenda packets, which provide info and context for the items being discussed.
While the mayor deserves what he gets, Strevens said, “I do think the taxpayers of this town need to know what he’s getting and why he’s getting it.”
Judson Crawford, a former Board of Apportionment and Taxation member, said that residents couldn’t provide the Aldermen with informed comments at Thursday’s hearing because they hadn’t been given enough information.
Aldermanic President Disagrees
John Anglace, the president of the Board of Aldermen, asked Dunn to explain his report before responding to the complaints by saying that the information they wanted could be accessed on the city’s website.
Anglace also said that notice of the prior meeting at which Dunn delivered his report was published, according to law.
“Public notice given. Public was invited. Public didn’t show up. I’m not going to tell you why they didn’t show up, that’s not my business,” Anglace said.
“My business is to get it out there,” he went on. “If you say it’s not transparent, you want it hand-fed to you. I can’t give you any more information now than I’ve given you already.”
After the hearing, Anglace defended the board’s practices.
“This process has been in place for 16 years and it is well-known, it is well-publicized, it’s objective, and we hire a third party to recommend it,” he said. “For God’s sakes, how much more objective can you get? I get more comments about the snow than about the mayor’s salary increase.”
‘They Get Paid Enough’
John “Jack” Finn, the board’s lone Democrat, said the city should do more than just what the law requires to get information to residents.
He said the information that was available before Thursday’s hearing didn’t do enough to explain the fringe benefits the mayor gets — e.g. a cell phone, a city car, insurance, and retirement benefits.
“That should have been included as a separate package to give everybody the full picture,” Finn said, adding that including police salaries in the survey was comparing “apples and oranges,” since the figures included private-duty time for which the city gets reimbursed.
He said he plans on voting no if Aldermen vote on the measure at their regular meeting next week, as he’s always done.
“It’s nothing personal,” Finn said, noting that he also voted against pay raises for Michael Pacowta, a Democrat who held the mayor’s post before Lauretti. “It’s just my feeling. They get paid enough.”
