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Date: 1/4/2023
SPRINGFIELD – The City Council approved raises for the council, School Committee and mayor during their Dec. 19 meeting. The raises will take effect in 2024 after the 2023 election cycle.
Once implemented, the raises will compensate members of the City Council $28,000 annually compared to the $19,500 they currently receive. The City Council president, who currently earns $20,000 annually, will make an additional $500 for a total of $28,500.
As for School Committee members, their annual salary will increase from $12,500 to $18,000.
The ordinance will also award a $40,000 raise to the mayor of Springfield. The mayor’s annual salary will increase from $135,000 to $175,000 in 2024. Incumbent Mayor Domenic Sarno will be running for re-election in 2023 against Ward 2 City Councilor Justin Hurst in a race that is expected to feature several other candidates.
City Councilor At-Large Kateri Walsh expressed her support for the ordinance during the meeting.
“I believe that the office of the mayor warrants an increase, as does the City Council and School Committee,” said Walsh.
The raises are supported by a study conducted Compensation Advisory Committee. During the City Council’s Dec. 5 meeting, Compensation Advisory Committee President Vanessa Otero said the raises were previously proposed under the leadership of former City Council presidents, Orlando Ramos and Marcus Williams.
“There has been no increase in the compensation for these governing bodies in 10 years,” said Otero during the Dec. 5 meeting.
The City Council ultimately approved the ordinance in a unanimous vote. The Springfield City Council’s approval of raises follows a similar process conducted by the Chicopee City Council in November.
Opposition to Raises
In the immediate aftermath of the raise approval, 2023 City Council At-Large candidate Juan Latorre III expressed his opposition to the raises via press release. Latorre III’s critiques focused on the timing and lack of transparency regarding the decision.
“While I am not opposed to an increase in compensation after 10 years without one, I am opposed to the timing, the lack of transparency throughout the process, the total increase, the metrics used to determine the increase and the immediate impact on an already strained municipal budget,” said Latorre III.
Latorre III claimed that the process was “intentionally buried to avoid public input around a potentially controversial topic” due to being the last item voted on by the City Council for the 2022 legislative session. He also expressed his dismay with the timing of the announcement as inflation and property tax bills continues to rise.
“That this vote comes during a time of record inflation, and on the heels of a tax rate vote which will once again saddle homeowners with a nearly $200 increase in property taxes (on average) is troubling,” said Latorre III.
Additionally, Latorre III said the annual increase of 4.36 percent for city councilors is unjust compared to the average 2 percent annual salary raises that city workers, such as police officers, firefighters and DPW staff members, recently received. He suggested that raises should have been implemented over several years compared to an “all at once approach.”
Latorre III concluded his remarks by reflecting on the raise’s approval amidst rigid economic conditions in Springfield.
“While the approximate $200,000 overall increase in compensation across the three bodies (City Council, mayor and School Committee) is small in comparison to an $819M budget, it comes at a time where Springfield is struggling to fully fund its’ pension liabilities, maintain essential services, and invest in aging infrastructure,” said Latorre III.