Commission votes to recommend raising salaries of mayor, council members

3/14/2013

A commission today voted to recommend restoring the Toledo mayor's salary to $136,000 for the next mayor and to raise the salary of council members from $27,500 to $32,500.

The recommendation now goes to Toledo City Council for final approval. The Salary Review and Recommendation Commission is established in the city charter and meets once every four years.

The Toledo mayor's salary would be raised from $122,400 to the $136,000 where it was before the current mayor, Michael Bell, took office. The commission voted 6-0 for that change. The pay raise recommendation for council members was approved 5-1 with Lucas County Republican Chairman Jon Stainbrook casting the sole no vote.

Other members present were Mark Sobczak, a former councilman who represents the Greater Northwest Ohio AFL-CIO on the commission, and who chaired the meeting; Betsy Dieball of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce; Mary Karazim of the League of Women Voters, Micheal Alexander of the NAACP, and Yvonne Harper, executive director of the Lucas County Democratic Party. Absent was Robert Torres of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Toledo had the lowest council salaries in a survey of eight regional cities - Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee. The only city in the survey with lower council salaries was Fort Wayne, Ind., with $21,842. Pittsburgh and Dayton both had lower mayoral salaries, according to the survey.

Salary changes would not take effect until after the next election for council and the mayor, meaning the salary of a sitting elected official cannot be altered.

Contact Tom Troy at tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058.