Officials consider 43%, 50% raises

Lauderdale wants ‘working wage’

They call it public service, but that doesn’t mean it’s volunteerwork.

Fort Lauderdale commissioners say they should make more money for their work on citizens’ behalf, and are poised to approve a 43 percent raise for the mayor and a 50 percent raise for city commissioners.

If the city commission approves the pay raises tonight, salaries will increase after the February-March city elections.

Commissioner Dean Trantalis said cynical people might think they’re just trying to enrich themselves. But he said the pay raise would allow people “of modest means” to run for city office.

“The amount of money that’s paid isles st hana reasonable working wage ,” he said.

The job is considered part time, with City Commission meetings twice a month.

But Trantalis and his colleagues said the demands of the job make it more like a fulltime position.

It’s too soon to tell which of the five on the City Commission— if any— would benefit.

Mayor Jack Seiler is facing term limits and will no longer be in city office. The same is true for Commissioner Romney Rogers.

Commissioner Bruce Rob--

erts is running for mayor. Commissioner Robert McKinzie is running for reelection. And Commissioner Dean Trantalis, who proposed the pay raise, hasn’t said whether he’s running again.

Currently, the mayor makes $35,000 and has a $500 monthly expense allowance. The new salary would be $50,000.

Commissioners currently make $30,000 with a $300 expense allowance. The new salary would be $45,000.

The monthly expense allowances would not change.

The new salaries were tied to household incomes in Fort Lauderdale, the largest of Broward County’s 31 cities. The city’s median income — meaning half the households have less, half have more— is $50,778.

Commissioners in Miami, whose population is more than double Fort Lauderdale’s, make $58,200, according to a League of Cities salary survey.

Commissioners in West Palm Beach, the only city in Palm Beach County with more than 100,000 residents, make $35,000, according to the survey.