CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — The Mayor and councilmembers of Chillicothe are voting on a raise to their paychecks at Monday night’s regularly scheduled council meeting.
According to the agenda of the meeting, the council will vote on a raise for themselves and other elected officials including the mayor. By city statute, the council and mayor already receive a 3% “cost of living” raise every four years.
Council will vote on the measure — which is proposed as an emergency piece of legislation — tonight at 7 p.m.
An Ordinance amending SEctions 111.01, 111.10, 114.01, 116.01, 118.01, and 120.01 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Chillicothe regarding pay provisions for the Elected City Officials, and declaring an emergency.
The proposed agenda for December 13, 2021.
The Guardian asked the city last week for copies of the proposed raises to see how much more money the council and mayor are asking, or if it’s merely the statutory 3% raise, but the city has not provided the records as of Monday morning. Currently, Mayor Luke Feeney receives a city salary of $55,000, while councilmembers are paid $5,100 with outgoing President, Bruce Arnold making $6,500. Interestingly enough, the majority of members who will vote on the legislation lose their seats in January when new members take over after losing the election in November.
UPDATE 2:45 P.M.:
The city replied to the Guardian after the publication of this article with the numbers for the raises.
Council members would receive a 62% pay raise going from $5,100 to $8,300; the mayor would go from $54,000 to $57,000; and the city auditor, who is having her designation changed from part-time to full-time will see the largest increase in pay, going from $51,500 to $77,500. The city treasurer will see his pay boosted to $12,400 from his previous $8,900.
A previous version of this article stated that council receives a 3% pay raise annually, when in actuality, it’s every four years.