Taking the advice of a bipartisan committee, Seymour selectmen raised the salary of the First Selectman’s job nearly 20 percent, the New Haven Register reported.
Whoever holds the position come Dec. 7 will make a yearly salary of $85,000, up from the current rate, $72,500.
That’s a raise of about 17.24 percent. It’s the first raise for the position a decade, officials said.
The vote by selectmen was unanimous, according to the Register.
Kurt Miller, the current First Selectman, recused himself from the discussion and left the room as the selectmen debated the pay hike. Miller is running for re-election against Democrat Zani Imetovski in November.A salary committee — made up of Board of Finance Chairman Bill Sawicki, Board of Finance member Beverly Kennedy, Selectman Paul Roy and Selectman Al Bruno — recommended the raise to the selectmen.
The Register quoted Sawicki as saying the salary for the town’s top elected official hasn’t been increased in more than a decade. Before that, when the position paid about $52,000 a year, the salary hadn’t been raised since 1998.
Sawicki said the finance board has been debating the issue for some time and concluded $72,500 town’s CEO was “absolutely ridiculous,” the Register reported.
Most local mayors and First Selectmen in the lower Valley hold full-time jobs that supplement their income from their public service.
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Big pay bump for Seymour First Selectman. Position had no increase for a decade.
Posted by Valley Independent Sentinel on Wednesday, 16 September 2015